After an extensive gap of close to five years, the world is all set to witness one of the most substantial rivalries in the sport as Team India will lock horns with Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium, this Sunday, in what will be the league opener for both the teams.
The Indian team finds themselves in a peach or form as they made easy work of both England and Australia in the warm-ups. While the Pakistani side were hammered by the South African team, their win against West Indies would make them feel confident.
India will be coming on the back of an incredible H2H record, as Pakistan have just managed to defeat India once in the shortest format. While, going by the World cup meetings tally, the men in green are yet to get the better of Team India at the biggest stage.
Revealing #TeamIndia’s latest throwdown specialist! @msdhoni | #T20WorldCup 💪🏾🎯 pic.twitter.com/COZZgV7Ba6
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 22, 2021
Will Virat Kohli and Co.extend their win streak to an impeccable 13-0? Or will the in-form skipper Babar Azam put the streak to rest?
Match Toss Time: 17:30 Local (19:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 18:00 Local (19:30 IST)
Match Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Head to Head
Matches played (T20Is): 8, India: 7, Pakistan: 1
Weather conditions and pitch
Team News
India suddenly seem to have a plethora of options in front of them as all the players look to be at their best. The only exception is the all-rounder Hardik Pandya but as per the latest reports of the Indian skipper he is certain to take up the No.6 spot, we feel Ishan Kishan could be a likely entity in the playing Xl and along with him Shardul Thakur too could make the cut. It would mean that Suryakumar Yadav will have to wait to make his T20 WC debut.
For Pakistan, there has been no injury concerns and they would be looking to play their best Xl ahead of the all-important clash. As per Pakistan's announcement of their 12-member squad, it is quite clear that Haider Ali will be the 12th man.
Pakistan open T20 World Cup campaign on Sunday
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) October 23, 2021
More details ➡️ https://t.co/jNJ0nfEIOg#WeHaveWeWill | #T20WorldCup
Probable Playing Xl
India (IND): KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya/Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami
Pakistan (PAK): Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Must-picks
There is no question on if you need to have KL Rahul on your side as he could be the jackpot on your side. Pakistan all-rounder “Professor” Mohammad Hafeez too is likely to be a valuable asset as he can contribute with both the bat and ball.
Indian opener Rohit Sharma and Pakistani skipper Babar Azam are our other two must-picks.
IND vs PAK Fantasy team
Captain and VC picks
Key stats
#out of the 11 T20I matches played so far by the Pakistani skipper in the UAE, he is yet to lose a match in UAE under his captaincy. Can he continue his domination?
#India have a 12-0 wins streak against Pakistan in the World Cups and to make things worse for Pakistan, India have an exceptional hold in the shortest format over Pakistan, with a 7-1 head-to-head tally.
#Virat Kohli with 90 sixes to his name is just four sixes away from overhauling T20 greats Brendon McCullum and Kieron Pollard.
Prediction
India seem to be the favorites coming into the high-octane clash and they must be well versed with the conditions in UAE after spending close to two months in the nation. Pakistan on the other side will be feeling home as they have otherwise had UAE as their home ground for the last few years.
Conditions could be ideal for both the teams and it could be only the performance of the players that matters. India will be feeling confident after their dominant performances in the warm-up matches. Pakistan’s bowling might be not upto the mark and they definitely miss the middle-order firepower.
Cricwizz predicts India to win the match and lead the Group 2 points table.
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