India shall be going into the match as the favorites both on form and the quality of players they have at their disposal.
India and Pakistan rarely compete at cricket, the game which dominates both the sporting and cultural landscape in both countries. Junaid Khan also sits in the top five wicket takers in the competition with seven to his name, whilst Muhammad Amir has been passed fit to play. We all know how the mullah-military-industrial complex kept the Pakistani population in the dark before the advent of social media.
"That was something we hadn't prepared for", he said. 'But I don't think we've exceeded expectations at all.
"We dissected India a lot before the game at Edgbaston and we've sort of backtracked a little bit". That's a real confirmer for us. Their strength was their bowling, and the ability to take wickets, especially through the middle overs when teams consolidate. That's pretty much our aim and focus. "We have the attack to restrict them or defend against them".
There are a couple of potential flaws in that plan. They took the game on. One of the most unpredictable sides in world sport, Pakistan were the lowest-ranked side going into the eight-nation tournament and produced a shambolic performance in their heavy defeat by India in the opener.
Batting conditions should be excellent and we could be in for a classic. India suffered a shock loss to Sri Lanka in the group stage before overwhelming Bangladesh in the semis and their captain Virat Kohli has been impressed by Pakistan's resurgence.
Indians are aware of the threat Pakistan poses and would look to put their best foot forward again.
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Harman, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood of England and Brooks Koepka will enter the weekend in a four-way tie for the lead. McIlroy has played in only seven tournaments this season and was coming off a layoff resulting from a nagging rib injury.
Arthur is confident the India "aberration" is now behind Pakistan, who've also lost all three of their previous knockout matches at International Cricket Council tournaments against their fiercest foes. The only difference here is that it is the Mini World Cup and the captain has been replaced.
They have come close on occasions. "They've beaten sides that looked really strong against them, but the belief just showed on the field [with] the way they played together as a team", he told reporters after Thursday's game. Every one of the youngsters that have come in have come in and made an impact straight away. That's a real confirmer for us. "After the India match, we just motivated the guys", he said. That's the most important thing for us.
"They're genuinely excited", he said at The Oval before their last practice. "All I want is a ticket for the Champions Trophy final", said an Indian fan, who turned up outside The Oval while the team went through their routine on the eve of the match.
Chasing a score of over 300 in a major tournament final is never easy, and it doesn't get any easier when Amir picks up Rohit Sharma with a corker of a delivery, that comes in enough to go between bat and pad and smash into the stumps. "This is gone. If we play good cricket, definitely we will win this tournament".
However, India will remain under pressure as the Pakistan team has a fresh batch of players who have exuberating confidence. As a result, Pakistan are now "catching up with the rest of the world".
"I think it's about conditions and match situations". "Exposure to massive pressure situations".
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