India had defeated Pakistan in the final of the inaugural World T20 tournament in South Africa to lift the title.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Sunday won the toss and as expected made a decision to bowl first in Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, here at The Oval.
The tense relationship between the nations means India have only played one bi-lateral series against Pakistan since the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008 and adds more spice to what should be a spectacular occasion.
In an exclusive interview to geo.tv, the Pakistan head coach said: "It is important that we play to our strengths, we gave too many chances to India in the earlier game".
"We are a young team and are very excited and motivated for the game", Sarfaraz said, responding to an Indian journalist's question regarding emotions ahead of the game.
The Indo-Pak clash has always been a high intensity match. "People can do shopping while also enjoying match in the market", said Sector 23 Market Association president Naresh Mahajan while talking with Chandigarh Newsline.
Fans who want to watch the India vs. Pakistan cricket match either online or on television will have quite a few options to catch one of the world's biggest rivalries and possibly the most-watched game of all time.
But Kohli was adamant that he valued the all-round balance Pandya offers and suggested that, if India continued to invest in him, they would be rewarded with "a match-winning performance" in a "crisis". In their last three games, they have restricted South Africa (219-8), Sri Lanka (236 all out), and England (211 all out) to low totals which shows how good their bowling has been.
The trophy win marked young MS Dhoni's arrival as the brilliant skipper of the Indian side. But the biggest plus for India in the tourney has been their pace attack which has bowled with pace and venom to run through the batting order of most of their opponents. Pakistan lost to West Indies in the 1983 semifinals when India won the World Cup. On the opposing side is a Pakistani team that has been hanging tough to battle back to the finals.
In fact, if reports are to be believed, around Rs 2,000 crore will be on stake for Sunday's Champion's Trophy final, according to estimates by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF).
Wayward with the ball, sloppy with the bat and calamitous in the field; Sarfraz Ahmed's side looked like anything but a team that would share the final stage with the defending champions.
Pakistan and India have both reached the final in opposite manner. They played fielders' cricket.
Two days later, again in the Welsh capital, Pakistan produced a brilliant all-round display to hammer previously unbeaten tournament hosts England by eight wickets in a lopsided semi-final. We have seen some really surprising results, and it's been unbelievable for the fans to watch and for the players to be a part of, as well,"said Kohli".