Daijiworld Media Network

Birmingham, Jun 15: Welcome to the most exciting match of the tournament. Well, this is a 'dead rubber' according to the positions of the teams at the moments, but for many people in India and Pakistan, this is much much bigger than a final! The result of the game will not change anything in the tournament, but try saying that to the supporters, or why, even the players! This is India vs Pakistan, and it is always, always a big game.

India have won the toss and elected to field.

Misbah: 'We just need to focus and we want to perform well in this game. The wicket looks dry and we were going to bat first anyway. India vs Pakistan is always a big game. All the people back at home want us to do well in this game. The players know it. Imran Farhat is out and Asad Shafiq is back.'

Dhoni: 'Whenever we play an international game, there is pressure on us. It remains the same. We have to be the same against whichever opposition we play. Just because it is Pakistan, it is not anything different. We have to play it like any other international game. Better to bowl first with rain forecast later on. We have done well while chasing targets as well. We remain unchanged. '

Weather update: it is bright at the moment, but the bad news is that rain is expected later in the day. We could have a start-stop day.

Here's an interesting stat: India have never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup game (be it T20 or 50 overs). Pakistan have never lost to India in a Champions Trophy game!

A reminder: India are already through to the semi final and will end the group as toppers, irrespective of today's result. Pakistan are already knocked out.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav

Pakistan (Playing XI): Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal(w), Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Shoaib Malik, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan

Match Preview

Dead rubber or not; whether the captains admit to it or not every India Pakistan encounter comes with tons of pressure and with the stakes sky-high. The result would only be of academic interest but it is unlikely to be just another dead rubber as India and Pakistan square off at Birmingham.

Birmingham is the second most populous city outside of London. The city is home to a chunky mass of Asian expats whose voracious appetite for cricket has always seen Edgbaston wearing its prettiest frock when India and Pakistan play - Expect more of the same on Saturday.

India

India have already sealed their berth in the next stage with 2 impressive wins against South Africa and the West Indies. They will want to ensure their winning run is intact and give themselves and their fans a huge boost with a win against Pakistan.

Like every time they have clashed in the history of the game, arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be taking fresh guard and MS Dhoni's men would do well to be wary that form, or the lack of it, would matter for nothing.

India have sound knowledge of the Edgbaston wicket. Riding on hundreds from Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik, India chased down 333 with consummate ease in a warm-up match against Sri Lanka on June 1.

India's batting remains their biggest strength. The opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan has worked like magic. Against quality pace attacks, especially against a South African pace quartet, the duo put on 100-plus stands that gave set up the middle-order to control the innings. Dhawan has been outstanding with back-to-back centuries. The last time the teams met, Pakistan surprised hosts India 2-1 in a short series in December 2012-January 2013.

Pakistan

With nothing to lose, Pakistan can be a dangerous enemy. The agony of crashing out of the Champions Trophy after two horrible performances against West Indies and South Africa will be instantly forgotten if Pakistan can beat India, the reigning World Cup champions and the No. 1 ODI team according to the ICC.

Pakistan's batting has been a serious worry in this tournament. The absence of a grafter in the top-order has exposed the brittle middle-order too soon. Except opener Nasir Jamshed and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, none of the batsmen have fired. Mohammed Hafeez and Malik's poor run with the bat hit Pakistan hard.

They have a brilliant bowling attack with the likes of Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan and Mohd Irfan to trouble any batting line-up in the world, but they will need their batsmen to step up to the plate if they are to be effective.

Stats

Champions Trophy history is siding with Pakistan. They have never lost to India in six editions of this event. Playing them twice and winning both.

Quotes

MS Dhoni: Well, there are two ways to look at it. If their thinking is that they have nothing really to lose, let's go out, be expressive on the field, don't bother about the result, then they can be dangerous. 'But if the thinking is they are not qualified, this is a game against India, let's win this game so we have it as a consolation prize, they'll be in big trouble. So it depends entirely on what Pakistan are thinking.

Misbah-ul-Haq: It's a final for us. A win against the world champions will be a great compensation. At least, the fans will be happy. We know we are out of the tournament, but I have told the boys to look at every game as their last chance to prove themselves. We will express ourselves well tomorrow.