T20 World Cup: rain may spoil India, Pakistan blockbuster game today
Cricket
Pakistan will be aiming to bounce back to winning ways
(Web Desk) - India and Pakistan will clash in an eagerly awaited match of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Sunday (today) in New York at the newly-built Nassau County Stadium, in front of a sell-out crowd of at least 34,000.
But rain could be a spoiler as weather pundits have forecast rain for New York. "There are 40 percent chances of rain," says Accuweather with “partly sunny, a shower or thunderstorm with strong breeze.”
India enter the contest on the back of a victory against Ireland in their tournament opener, while Pakistan are reeling from a shocking Super Over loss to the United States on Thursday.
With everything seemingly going India's way, they are expected to have a regular day on the field.
They played a warm-up game against Bangladesh at the venue, giving them familiarity with the conditions.
Strategic moves like promoting Virat Kohli to open with Rohit Sharma and having Jasprit Bumrah lead the bowling attack show their readiness.
For Pakistan, the situation is bleak. They were demoralised by their defeat to the co-hosts and missed practice due to a match between South Africa and the Netherlands at the venue.
Additionally, they are dealing with the fitness issue of all-rounder Imad Wasim, who hasn't recovered from a side strain. Analysts suggest this match is a do-or-die contest for Pakistan.
All eyes will be on Rohit Sharma and Co, who will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins, after defeating Ireland in their campaign opener.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will be aiming to bounce back to winning ways, having lost to co-hosts USA in their opener.
Kuldeep Yadav is expected to be included in the playing XI and could be his side's key player. His match-up against Babar Azam will be interesting to watch.
This also means that one out of Axar Patel or Ravindra Jadeja may sit on the bench. Rohit and Virat Kohli are expected to open for Team India and Rishabh Pant will take the No. 3 slot
After Pakistan's defeat vs USA, Babar blamed his side's bowlers. The conditions have already proved useful for seamers, as shown by Jasprit Bumrah.
So, we could see Shaheen Shah Afridi and Pakistan's pace battery get back to form on Sunday.
SQUADS (likely)
INDIA: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
PAKISTAN: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
