India vs Pakistan, a World Cup match, in India, at the biggest cricket stadium in the world – is expected to be a spectacle in itself. Both India and Pakistan have won their respective two matches and the two powerhouses will want to carry the winning impetus.
The last time these two teams had met on a World Cup (T20) stage, at the MCG, Virat Kohli had produced one of the best T20I innings of his career and had snatched a win from the jaws of defeat. 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 Pakistan: W W L L W
Pakistan came up with a fine batting show against Sri Lanka with Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan scoring fine centuries. However, they would be a bit concerned that their bowling battery conceded 344 runs. Moreover, it won’t be a bad time for Babar Azam to get back into form.
Current form for India: W W L W W
India has all their pieces in place but they might continue to miss the services of Shubman Gill. It will be interesting to note who India’s think tank would back between Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami as the latter has more experience of playing in Ahmedabad as it is his home IPL ground.
Head to Head: Matches: 134, Won by Pakistan: 73, Won by India: 56, NR: 5.
Pakistan holds the advantage against India in H2H but the latter has a 7-0 record against the former in World Cup matches.
Players to look out for: KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Mohammed Siraj will hold the key for Team India.
Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf will be the crucial players for Pakistan.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
