The much-anticipated match of the ongoing World Cup 2023 between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Saturday. Both of these teams have made promising starts to their campaign, winning both of their matches.
India won their opening clash against Australia whereas they registered a convincing win against Afghanistan in their previous game. Pakistan, on the other hand, had beaten the Netherlands in their opener whereas they created history as they chased down the highest total in World Cup history against Sri Lanka in their last game.
However, Pakistan’s bowling, which has always been their strength over the years, conceded 344 runs against Sri Lanka and they would want to come up with a better bowling show against a formidable Indian batting line-up. Furthermore, the form of Babar Azam will also be a concern for Pakistan.
Meanwhile, India has ticked the right boxes as a unit in their first two matches. Shubman Gill remains doubtful for the big clash and he might stay on the sidelines despite joining the team in Ahmedabad.
Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were brilliant for India against Afghanistan and they are once again going to hold the key. Rohit smashed a 63-ball century whereas Bumrah returned with 4-39, his best World Cup figures.
Match Prediction: India might start as slight favorites against 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.