Haris Rauf taunts India with memories of back-to-back defeats ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 showdown

New Delhi: In the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy match at the Dubai International Stadium, Pakistan finds themselves in a do-or-die situation against India. Their tournament started off on a disappointing note with a 60-run loss to New Zealand. Defeating India, especially on a spin-friendly pitch, poses a daunting challenge for Pakistan under the immense pressure of needing to secure a crucial victory.

Before the highly anticipated clash, Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf stirred things up by reminding India of their two defeats to Pakistan in Dubai. Pakistan dominated India with a 10-wicket victory in the 2021 T20 World Cup and defeated them again in the 2022 Asia Cup. However, Rauf acknowledged that Dubai’s pitches might offer spin, meaning Pakistan will have to play exceptionally well to overcome India.

“No doubt, it will boost our confidence. We have beaten India here in back-to-back years. We will try and repeat the good things from those games and try and beat India. I hope it’s a good match,” Haris Rauf told reporters.

“No doubt, the record is good. But it depends on the pitches. It might be a spin track. We will look at the conditions and try and use them well,” he added.

Pakistan Under No Pressure – Rauf
With so much at stake in the crucial match against India, Pakistan remain calm, as Haris Rauf stated that the team is relaxed and not feeling any pressure. He emphasized that the Men in Green will treat it like any other game.

“Everybody is doing well in the camp. We are focused on doing well. We will try to give our best and ensure we win the match. There is no pressure. We are very relaxed. We are all positive, we will approach the game like any other,” said Haris Rauf.

Injury Setback To Pakistan
Pakistan will be without their key batter Fakhar Zaman, who was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. The PCB named Imam-ul-Haq as his replacement. Meanwhile, Haris Rauf stated that Pakistan are determined to defeat India at all costs to secure a spot in the semifinals.

“The New Zealand match is gone. We are focused on the India game. We want to make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes from that match here. This is a very important match for us. We want to win it to make sure we qualify for the semi-final,” said Rauf.