The Pakistan and India three-match one-day series has served as a curtain-raiser to a mouth-watering clash between the two sides in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which will be held in England and Wales from June 6-23.
The two sides will go head-to-head on Saturday 15 June in a Group B match in what will be the final edition of the event.
While India will aim to avenge not only the home series defeat but also to register its first win over Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan will be looking to finish the event with a clean sheet against its traditional rival. Interestingly, Pakistan has never beaten India in an ICC Cricket World Cup match but has never lost to India in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Other sides in Group B of the ICC Champions Trophy are 1998 winner South Africa and 2004 champion West Indies. The tournament opener will feature the two former winners when South Africa, takes on the 2002 champion India in Cardiff on 6 June. The following day, the West Indies will face Pakistan at The Oval.
Group A includes defending champion Australia, 2000 winner New Zealand and 2002 champion Sri Lanka, along with host England which reached the final when it last staged the event in 2004. The semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy will be staged at The Oval (19 June) and in Cardiff (20 June) while Edgbaston will be the venue of the final, to be played on 23 June.
A thing to note here is that the tickets to see two of cricket’s biggest rivals – India and Pakistan – clash in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 sold out in just three hours after going on general sale.
