India have not made any changes in their playing XI, while Pakistan have left out Imran Farhat and brought in Asad Shafiq.
The match may be inconsequential because India have already qualified for the semifinals and Pakistan are already out of the tournament. However, for the Pak team that was booed on its way out of Edgbaston the other day after losing to South Africa, winning against India may allow them to head back home with a consolation win.
In India's case, it'll be an opportunity to test their in-form batting order against one of the best pace and spin attacks in the tournament.
Like any such battle where mind and matter go hand in hand, Saturday's contest will be unique as it will test both skill and mental toughness of the players.
With nothing to lose, Pakistan can be a dangerous enemy. The agony of crashing out of the Champions Trophy after two horrible performances against West Indies and South Africa will be instantly forgotten if Pakistan can beat India, the reigning World Cup champions and the No. 1 ODI team according to the ICC.
Champions Trophy history is, of course, siding with Pakistan. They have never lost to India in six editions of this event.
Purely on form, India have a good chance to pull one back at Pakistan this time. A win will take India to the top of Group B with six full points and they will travel to Cardiff to play the No. 2 team in Group A.
The weather -- around which everything comes into play -- has been most unpredictable in Birmingham. The sun tends to come out and go away in a flash and so does the rain. The only constant is perhaps the irregularity with which things change.
Teams:
India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt.), Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Shoaib Malik, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan.
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