The famous and dramatic cricketing rivalry between Pakistan and India is set to reignite when the two Asian giants will lock horns at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground this Sunday.
The long-awaited game is expected to get affected by rain according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Though, the chances of rain during the match have reduced significantly. As things stand, it is reported that there will still be a 65 percent chance of rain, which was earlier at 90 percent.
Pakistan and India are joined by Bangladesh, South Africa, Netherlands, and Zimbabwe, and can afford few slip-ups if they are to reach the semi-finals.
The last T20 World Cup meeting between the two Asian giants provided stunning drama and caused significant and ultimately fatal damage to India’s chances of making it to the final four.
Pakistan fans have fond memories of the 10-wicket victory their side registered at last year’s event, while India will be keen to exact some revenge for that thumping.
Pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who will be in action for the first time in international cricket since picking up the injury back in July, did the majority of the damage for the Babar-led unit that day, with the left-arm quick helping himself to three big wickets as India were restricted to a below par score of 151/7.
That score was never going to be enough, with openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam reaching the target without loss and more than two overs remaining.
Since last year’s T20 World Cup meeting, the two sides met twice at the Asia Cup, sharing a win each.
The Rohit Sharma-led unit comes into the event, defeating Australia and South Africa in the home series. They also defeated the defending champions and hosts Australia convincingly by six runs in a warm-up game.
Meanwhile, the Men in Green reached Australia after a tri-series win in New Zealand. However, they lost their first warm-up game against England by six wickets, while their match against Afghanistan was called off after the first innings due to rain.
Top-order batter Fakhar Zaman is reportedly set to miss the all-important tie as he hasn’t fully recovered from a knee injury.
He was included in the side as Usman Qadri’s replacement, who fractured his thumb during the England-Pakistan T20I series.
Meanwhile, Shan Masood, who got a knock on his neck during the practice session, is cleared for the game.Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami. Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood. Standby Players: Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.
Expected playing XIs:
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hairs Rauf and Naseem Shah.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel/Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep SinghHow to watch India v Pakistan?
The India v Pakistan match will be televised and live-streamed across continents with the Star Network, Sky Sports, Fox Sports, ESPN, PTV and Times Internet among the major broadcasters.
Star Network have television rights in India, while in Pakistan PTV & ARY Digital Networks will broadcast the game.
