Game details
India vs Pakistan
New York, 10.30 am
The big picture: Make a break for Pakistan
So, here we go, again. India seems to be stable. Pakistan not so much. This has often been the case when looking at the highly anticipated matches of the World Cup.
Form guide
India WWWWW (last five games completed, most recent)
Pakistan LLLWW
Pitch and conditions: What pitch and how will it play?
One of the consequences of the construction of an international cricket stadium in the park area in record time is that the quality of the pitches, which were planted from Florida to New York, is not up to standard.
South Africa bowled out Sri Lanka for 77 in 1 over and chased the target with some difficulty. India destroyed Ireland by 96 in the 4th over two days later. In that match, Harry Tector, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant were hit in the body, with unexpected bounces, exaggerated seam movements, and slow pitches that made scoring runs very difficult. Following widespread criticism, the ICC acknowledged the problem and said it was trying to find a solution.
On Friday, Canada became the first team to score over 100 in New York, and defended their 137 by 12 runs against Ireland on pitch No. 4. South Africa played the Netherlands at a new venue – pitch no. 2 – Saturday. The Netherlands managed just 103 for 9 but South Africa were 12 for 4 before eventually winning by four wickets. David Miller, however, said no. 2 played better than pitch no. 1. So India and Pakistan are likely to play on pitch no. 4 or 2.
Fast bowlers have dominated the games so far in New York. With Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir and Haris Rauf heading for Pakistan, and Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya heading for India, the batsmen from both sides could be in for a fight unless the conditions somehow favor it. they are very different.
The weather in New York was very hot the night before the game, but some weather websites are predicting showers for Sunday morning.
Group news
India are likely to field the same XI that defeated Ireland by eight wickets with 46 balls to spare.
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed Siraj
Imad Wasim did not play the match between Pakistan and the USA due to a rib injury, but coach Gary Kirsten said he is fit and will play against India. Azam Khan, who made a golden duck in Dallas, may be dropped.
Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammed Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Usman Khan, 4 Fakhar Zaman, 5 Shadab Khan, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Mohammad Amir , 11 Haris Rauf
In the light
Babar Azam had a shocker against the USA: 4 off 14 balls in the powerplay, 24 balls before his first boundary, and was dismissed for 44 off 43 when Pakistan needed him most to keep the momentum going. He also couldn’t wake his team up on the pitch, and it stumbled from brilliance to embarrassing misery. Having stepped down as captain in November, only to be reinstated in March, Babar’s leadership could be highly regarded if Church does not go Pakistan’s way.
India chose Shivam Dube in the XI mainly as a nuisance to the left spin in the middle overs. He won’t face much of that against Pakistan. Dube wasn’t the best fast bowler but he worked in the weak with Chennai Super Kings and averaged 44 with a strike rate of 164 against pace in IPL 2024. If he passed the test in Afridi, Naseem, Rauf and Amir. , will end that argument.
Math and trivia
- In the first four matches of the T20 World Cup played in New York, the fast bowlers took 45 wickets and the spinners only 10. The teams have bowled 115.2 overs, and only 27.2 overs at this venue.
Quotes
“This is unique in T20 cricket. Anything can happen anywhere. In the last World Cup, Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe. But in the end they played in the final.”
Rohit Sharma about whether India is wary of Pakistan’s aggressive return.
“The big game is India-Pakistan, I don’t need to motivate the team. They are determined, they are focused on this game. We have to forget about the past few days and move forward, that’s the only way you can face life.”
The head coach Gary Kirsten is on the Pakistani side of this conflict for the first time.
George Binoy is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
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