Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Sunday. Earlier on Saturday, the group stage match against these two potent teams was called off due to rain. The rain is once again forecasted for the Sunday clash as there will be 90% precipitation.
Both teams will aim to tick the right boxes against each other in this big clash. We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form for India: W NR W L W
India won their previous match against Nepal but their fielding was sloppy throughout the game as they dropped as many as four catches. Ergo, the Rohit Sharma-led team will have to pull up their socks against a formidable Pakistan unit.
Current form for Pakistan: W NR W W W
Pakistan’s pace battery was once again right on the money against Bangladesh in their previous game. Haris Rauf was the chief destroyer with four wickets whereas Naseem Shah bagged three wickets. Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan delivered with the bat as they scored 78 and 63 respectively.
Head to Head: Matches: 133, Won by Pakistan: 73, Won by India: 55, NR: 5.
Pakistan clearly holds the advantage against India in the H2H battle.
Players to look out for: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav, and Hardik Pandya will hold the key for Team India.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Haris Rauf will hold the key for Pakistan.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (backup).
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve).
