Champions Trophy 2025: What To Expect? Who Has Highest Chances Of Winning?

The Champions Trophy Cup [Source: @mansoorrana205, @AdvocateMessi/x.com]

We are all set for the Champions Trophy 2025 to start and encompass the imagination of the cricket fans. PCB will be hosting the top eight teams in international cricket across four stadiums in Pakistan and Dubai. In the article we try to analyses and predict what we can expect from the tournament and which team has the highest chance of winning the title. 

Before moving onto the expectations regarding Champions Trophy 2025, let us turn the clock back and check how the previous edition went by.

Who Won The Last Edition Of The Champions Trophy?

The previous edition of the Champions Trophy was held eight years ago in England. The hosts for this year, Pakistan won the title that time by defeating their arch-rivals, India in the summit clash. 

Sarfaraz Ahmed led the Pakistan team in 2017. Notably in 2025, the Pakistan team will be led by another wicketkeeper batter - Mohammad Rizwan. The hosts for Champions Trophy 2025 will hope to win their second consecutive title.

One of the major factors in deciding the fate of the tournament will be wickets where the games will be played. So let us take look at the trend of the venues where most of the games in the tournament would be played. 

Champions Trophy 2025 - Venue Trends

1. What Can We Expect From The Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore?

Table - ODI Stats At The Gaddafi Stadium In Last 10 Years

Impact Of Toss: The numbers suggest that the toss would not play a huge role in deciding the fate of the game. However, if the dew starts settling in, then batting might get easier in the second innings and toss will play a bigger role.

Projected Total: In some of the games we can expect to see 300 plus totals at the Gaddafi Stadium. As per the trend in the last 10 years, a total beyond 300 could be a winning score at this venue in most  cases.

Whom Will The Gaddafi Stadium Favour More: Pacers Or Spinners?

The fact that the pacers have taken lesser deliveries for each of their wicket indicates that, they might get a bit of help from the track both at the beginning and towards the end of an innings. In the last 10 years, the pacers have been the more effective species of bowlers at this venue than the spinners.

2. What Can We Expect From The National Stadium, Karachi?

Table - ODI Stats At The National Stadium In Last 10 Years

Impact Of Toss: Once more, it seems that the toss will not be a major factor in deciding the fate of the games. In the last 10 years, teams chasing and defending targets have won equal share of ODI matches at the venue. 

Projected Total: As the scoring trend suggests, the pitch will be a good one for batting. As the average total in the first innings suggest, 300 plus totals might be achieved frequently at the venue during the tournament. 

Whom Will The National Stadium Favour More: Pacers Or Spinners?

The pacers have done significantly better at the National Stadium than the spinners. While they pacers have picked up a wicket every five and half overs, the spinners have taken nearly nine overs to do so. So, there might be help on the track with the new ball for the pacers and they might also get a bit of reverse from the track when the cherry gets older.

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3. What Can We Expect From The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi?

Table - ODI Stats At The National Stadium In Last 10 Years

Impact Of Toss: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be one of the venues where the toss plays a significant role in the outcome of the game. In the last 10 years, on five ODI matches have been played at the venue. 60% of these games have been won by the chasing team giving a clear indication for the captains.

Projected Total: Batting here might be a bit tougher than the other two venues in Pakistan. A score over 290 might be a winning total. However, the stats do suggest that chasing has been the easier thing to do here and the teams will probably look to field first on most ocassions on winning the toss.

Whom Will The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium Favour More: Pacers Or Spinners?

Rawalpindi has apparently been a venue for the pacers. While they have got a wicket every six overs, the spinners have taken nearly 13 overs to pick up a wicket. This is a clear indication that the teams will have to depend more on their pacers to draw a positive result in the games at this venue.

4. What Can We Expect From The Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai?

Table - ODI Stats At The Dubai International Cricket Stadium In Last 3 Years

Impact Of Toss: The pitch at the Dubai International cricket Stadium has also been favourable for the chasing team in the recent past. Nearly 70% of the last 13 ODIs at this venue have been won by the team chasing.

Projected Total: The average totals at this venue in the last three years suggest that batting might be the most difficult on this track during the tournament. What the stats suggest that the track might get slower after the initial few overs and keep the spinners in the game. So, the batters will need to plan out their knocks meticulously to leave positive impacts in the game.

Whom Will The Dubai International Cricket Stadium Favour More: Pacers Or Spinners?

The track at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium will keep both the pacers and the spinners interested in the game. The track will test the batters and scoring runs will not be easy on the track. It will be a difficult track for the batters, while the bowlers might enjoy the venue.

Conclusion

If India qualifies for the final, then the final will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, else it will be hosted in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

If the final is played in Dubai, then the team with a more balanced bowling attack might have the advantage. However, if the final takes place in Lahore, the team with more impactful batters might take away the game.

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