Sourav Ganguly predicts India vs Pakistan outcome, says spin will be king in Dubai

India vs Pakistan: Former captain Sourav Ganguly said the defending champions might struggle against India in Dubai. Ganguly also backed Virat Kohli to overcome his struggles against spin.

In Short

• India take on defending champions Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday
• Ganguly said India's spin bowling unit will trouble Pakistan
• Pakistan are heading into the match on the back of a big loss

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has dismissed Pakistan's chances of beating India in the much-anticipated Champions Trophy 2025 clash in Dubai on Sunday, February 23. Ganguly, who led India in several memorable encounters against their arch-rivals, said India's potent spin attack will give them a significant edge over Pakistan.

India are heading into the contest on the back of a comprehensive victory against Bangladesh in their Group A opener on Thursday in Dubai. Mohammed Shami shone on his return to ICC events as the senior fast bowler picked up a five-wicket haul. Spinners Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav put the choke on Bangladesh's scoring rate in the middle overs. At one point, Axar Patel was on a hat-trick as Bangladesh were reeling at 35 for 5 before Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali added a 150-plus stand to help them get to 228.

India chased down the target with six wickets to spare, riding on Shubman Gill's gritty hundred and a solid opening burst from Rohit Sharma.

Champions Trophy: Full Coverage | Points Table

In contrast, Pakistan suffered a humbling 60-run loss to New Zealand in the tournament opener in Karachi on Wednesday. Pakistan were undone by both pace and spin from New Zealand, who posted 320 after hundreds from Tom Latham and Will Young.

Speaking at a promotional event in Kolkata, Ganguly said India are not just favourites to win their game against Pakistan, but to go all the way in the tournament.

"India are not just favourites against Pakistan but for me, they are favourites for this tournament. It won't be easy for Pakistan. The spinners will also play a crucial part. I think India will go with the same (bowling) combination," Ganguly said.

India played a three-man spin attack and picked Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami as frontline pacers along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya. On the other hand, Pakistan played only one specialist spinner -- Abrar Ahmed in the XI. In fact, Pakistan have only one specialist spinner in their squad of 15.

“On the wicket in Dubai, they will need spinners. I presume this Dubai pitch will turn a bit, and Pakistan doesn’t play spin very well. India has quality spinners," Ganguly added.

EARLY EXIT FOR PAKISTAN, VIRAT KOHLI RETURN

The former India skipper also predicted an early exit for Pakistan.

"New Zealand have beaten Pakistan. So, New Zealand is ahead. If India beat Pakistan, then Pakistan will probably be out of the competition. So, I see India and New Zealand progressing from this group," he added.

Pakistan suffered a major injury blow when they lost Fakhar Zaman after the game against New Zealand. The explosive opener sustained a leg injury while fielding and struggled during their failed chase of 321.

While Babar Azam struggled to find any rhythm in Karachi, India star Virat Kohli continued to battle against spin.

After getting out to Adil Rashid twice in an ODI series at home earlier this month, Kohli was undone by Rishad Hossain against Bangladesh on Thursday. He found it difficult to rotate the strike in the middle overs, but Ganguly backed the star batter to overcome his struggles against spin.

"The quality of cricketer Virat Kohli is ---I’m sure he will be able to sort this out. He has got 81 international hundreds, and I’m sure he scored runs against leg-spin also. So, it was probably just one of those days when he got out. He has to find a way to play it.”