The threat of rain on the Pakistan vs India match has eased as skies cleared in Melbourne and fans can expect a 40-over encounter between the arch-rivals.
Fans can expect a full match as chances of rain have reduced further. The sun is out in Melbourne and the weather is partly cloudy with a cool breeze.
According to the latest weather update, Melbourne has less than 5% chance of rain during the day today and less than 15% chance of rain between 7pm and 10pm and only 24% chance of rain at night. .
The high-voltage Group 2 clash, the 16th match of the world’s biggest cricket event, will kick off at 1pm Pakistan time at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), a cricket stadium that seats 100,000 fans. can.
Starting their World Cup journey in today’s match-off, the Men in Green will go into the final T20 World Cup with the confidence of a ten-wicket win against India.
The team will look to capitalize on pace bowler Haris Rauf when they take on arch-rivals India, who they have beaten in two of their last three matches in 12 months.
However, their arch-rivals have an impressive history of winning 9 out of 12 T20 matches against Pakistan.
When Pakistan defeated India in the high-voltage T20 World Cup in Dubai last year, fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was their star performer.
At the MCG, Shaheen will return to the line-up to bolster Pakistan’s attack in the big match against India but this time another pacer could play a key role for the team. The reason Pakistan are looking at Rauf is not only because of his current form but also because he has a lot of experience playing as the lead pacer for the Melbourne Stars in the BBL at the MCG.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam told reporters on Saturday that Haris was sharing information about the conditions at the MCG with his teammates.
“Harris has been a brilliant bowler for us and one of the best players in our team. He has played brilliantly recently, especially in Shaheen’s absence.
Meanwhile, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said on Saturday that India are relishing the “challenge” of facing Pakistan in their opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup.
Before the team left for Australia, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja advised the team led by Babar Azam to dream of winning the tournament. “The World Cup is a mental game. It’s about not giving up and fulfilling a dream – which is to win the World Cup,” he said.
Pakistan’s bowling line-up consists of Shaheed Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. After a relatively long recovery in London, Shaheen looks fully energized. However, batsman Fakhar Zaman will not be available for this match due to injury.
The jubilant Men in Green have a great chance of reproducing their historic moment at the MCG thirty years ago when they won the 50-over World Cup.
In the last two decades, India have always been considered pre-WC favourites. However, they have not lifted any ICC Cup since the 2013 Champions Trophy. India have a chance to change World Cup history this time with one of the strongest lineups in the world.
The Indian team has an enviable batting line-up that includes Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. Meanwhile, Pakistan have Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan who are the world’s top-ranked batsmen.
The ICC said the tickets for the blockbuster match were sold out within minutes of going on sale.
India and Pakistan are in Group 2 along with Bangladesh, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Netherlands. The top two progress to the semi-finals in Australia.
Squads
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper/batter), Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shan Masood.
Standby players: Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, and Shahnawaz Dahani.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Shami.
Standby players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.
