DUBAI: Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat first against arch rival India in T-20 World Cup Super 12 match.
Arch rivals India and Pakistan are facing off today (Sunday) in a T20 World Cup blockbuster in Dubai.
The Virat Kohli-led side leads 5-0 in T20 World Cup.
However, Kohli will be leading the team for the first time against Pakistan in the global tournament.
There’s no doubt that the contest between the sub-continental giants will attract global interest even beyond the cricket fraternity.
But both teams, with face-offs becoming as rare as a hailstorm in the Emirates, have been trying their best to play down the pressure-cooker scenario associated with the game.
India are 12-0 in world cup cricket history and 5-0 in T20 world cups alone.
India captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam have called it just another game, but that is clearly not the case.
India last hosted Pakistan in a bilateral series in 2013 and the teams now meet only in global tournaments, the last being the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.
The 17,500 tickets for the game were sold out hours after being put on sale and television channels in both countries are running special shows on the match.
Official broadcaster Star India, which has lined up an impressive array of sponsors for the tournament, acknowledges the commercial significance of Sunday’s match.
An India vs Pakistan cricket match has always been a high-volatile affair. And, when they face off in the T20 World Cup in Dubai, it is expected to be the most followed and watched match in the world and we expect a high-voltage encounter between both sides.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have not been able to beat India in any of the 13 meetings in the World Cups.
The green team continue to be unpredictable and despite the unflattering record, they have the players who can be world-beaters on their day and hence, India need to be at their best.
Pakistan Squad:
Captain Babar Azam
Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Billions of cricket fans across the globe will be glued to their televisions and nearly 30,000 spectators will be inside the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday to witness Pakistan open their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign against India.
Pakistan and India first met in T20 format in the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 in Durban, which India won in bowl-out after both the sides ended up on 141 runs each. Since, the two sides have played each other four more times – including the 2007 edition’s final – in the T20 World Cup.
India’s Squad:
India’s 15-man squad:
Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd Shami, Shardul Thakur.