CT Venue Analysis: High Scores Expected In Pakistan But What About Dubai?

The ICC Champions Trophy is set to return after eight years as defending champions Pakistan will be hosting the eight-team event from February 19 to March 9 across three venues: Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore. Team India will not be travelling to Pakistan on account of security reasons and thus will be playing all their games in Dubai. The Dubai International Stadium is the fourth and the final venue of the competition and will also host one semi-final and the final, should India make it to the summit clash. 

With just two days to go for the competition, let's delve into the numbers associated with these venues. What can we expect come CT 2025?

National Stadium – Karachi

Toss has not been a major factor in the final result as teams batting first and chasing have won four games each since 2020. The average first innings score looks to be around 290 and teams will be expected to eye 300+ in order to be on the safer side.

Pacers have dominated spinners in Karachi, taking 61% of the total wickets, bowling just 11 overs fewer than that of spinners. They have a much better average of 33.7 but the economy rate is a run a ball, significantly higher than that of the spinners. So going by this data, pacers will prove to be an attacking option here, while spinners will be a more defensive one.

Matches scheduled in Karachi in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Match 1: Pakistan vs New Zealand - February 19 2025

Match 3: Afghanistan vs South Africa - February 21 2025

Match 11: South Africa vs England – March 1 2025

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium – Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi has not hosted much ODI games since 2020, with just five games played at this venue. Teams chasing have won three times with average first innings score being 278. 

Pacers have overpowered spinners, taking three times the number of wickets in the same number of innings. Spinners have a very high bowling average of 59.3 along with being expensive. So it looks a given that pace will relatively dominate proceedings here in Rawalpindi, with spin set to be a non-factor.

Matches scheduled in Rawalpindi in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Match 6: Bangladesh vs New Zealand - February 24 2025

Match 7: Australia vs South Africa - February 25 2025

Match 9: Pakistan vs Bangladesh – February 27 2025

Gaddafi Stadium – Lahore

Lahore, like Karachi, has seen the toss have minimal impact, with teams winning equal number of games while both batting first and chasing. The average first innings score is around 290 but the average winning first innings score is around 317 since 2020. Considering this, teams might need over 320 in order have a chance of defending the target.

Pacers have a slight upper hand in Lahore as they have taken 61% of the total wickets. Spinners, though, have averaged better in Lahore compared to other two venues in Pakistan. Notably, the quicks have been considerably expensive here, evident by the E.R of 6.1.

Matches scheduled in Lahore in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Match 4: Australia vs England - February 22 2025

Match 8: Afghanistan vs England - February 26 2025

Match 10: Afghanistan vs Australia - February 28 2025

Match 14: 2nd Semi Final – March 5 2025

Dubai International Cricket Stadium – Dubai

Dubai has been a chasing ground in ODIs over the last couple of years as teams have won chasing 9/13 times. The average scores are not as high as in Pakistan as the wickets in Dubai are much slower and tough to score. However, it is worth noting that full-member sides have not played each other here in six years. Thus the scores are skewed towards the lower end due to associate teams playing all ODIs at the venue in the last five years.

In terms of pace vs spin, it might be more relevant to look at data from the recently-concluded ILT20. There, a total of 15 games were played in Dubai and pacers completely dominated proceedings, taking nearly 70% of the wickets.

READ: Why ILT20 Suggests India Picking 5 Spinners Might Be A Mistake

India have a terrific record in Dubai, winning five of the six ODIs. The only ODI they failed to win was a tie against Afghanistan in the 2018 edition of Asia Cup which saw them winning the tournament and emerging champions. 

Matches scheduled in Dubai in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Match 2: Bangladesh vs India - February 20 2025

Match 5: Pakistan vs India - February 23 2025

Match 12: New Zealand vs India – March 2 2025

Match 13: 1st Semi Final – March 4 2025

Match 15: Final - March 9 2025 (if India reach the final)