The mouth-watering contest that cricket fans have been waiting for is just hours away. The biggest clash of the year, India vs Pakistan, is set to take place at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday, June 8 at 8 PM (IST). But will rain play a spoilsport to interrupt the thrill?
India are coming on the back of a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Ireland in their first match. On the other hand, Pakistan started their campaign on a bitter note as they lost to the hosts USA in the Super Over. This has definitely reduced the hype of IND vs PAK.
The shock defeat has dented Pakistan's confidence and now they need to win the upcoming matches to book a berth in the Super 8s. A loss to India could deny Babar Azam and Co. the chance to qualify, while a win would almost seal a spot for Rohit Sharma and his team in the second round.
The Men in Blue are now favourites, but the pressure created when the two lock horns will make the contest intensify. It was India who won the battle in the last edition and Pakistan will aim to take revenge this time with their deadly pace unit.
Pitch Report:
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium offers a bowling-friendly pitch which makes it extremely hard for the batters to find runs. The average score at this venue is 102. So far, three matches have been played here, all of which have been low-scoring encounters. Moreover, two of those matches did not even see teams score above 100 runs. Fast bowlers are more likely to enjoy the conditions than spinners.
Weather Report:
Rain is likely to play a crucial role in the India-Pakistan match. The sky will be partly cloudy during the day and night in New York. There is a chance of showers in the morning, but not overnight. The match is scheduled to take place at 10:30 AM (8 PM IST) and may be disrupted. The humidity will be around 52%-57% during the day and night.
According to the AccuWeather forecast, there is a 42% chance of precipitation on June 9. At least a 5-over game must be played for a result or both teams will share a point each.
IND vs PAK: Probable Playing XIs
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan XI: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir
IND vs PAK: Full Squad
India's T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube
Pakistan's T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed