India kickstart their 2021 T20 World Cup against Pakistan in Dubai

It is a rivalry for all ages. The decades-long star trek makes it more than just an ordinary cricket match. It is "él Clasico" in the world of cricket. India versus Pakistan in an ICC event, and it can’t get much bigger than this to start off their campaigns in the 2021 T20 World Cup for both sides. Dubai takes the centre stage for the much-anticipated fixture on Sunday, October 24.

Team India are coming into the Super 12 stage of the tournament with a perfect record from the two warm-up game victories over England and Australia. On the other hand, Pakistan won against the West Indies and lost against South Africa in their two matches warm-up matches ahead of the big clash.

The prowess of India is second to none. The squad's absolute balance across various departments is what makes the Men in Blue one of the most formidable forces in world cricket. On paper, Pakistan too has a reasonably good squad for the T20 Mega Event with promising talents. And hopefully, the match can live up to all the expectations deliver a cracker.

News

The T20 World Cup is going to be Virat Kohli’s last as captain in the shortest format, and he has already announced he will be stepping down to manage his workload.

Pakistan has announced their 12-man squad for tomorrow’s big match.

Match Details

Super 12 Group 2, Match 16: India vs Pakistan

Date: Sunday, October 24

Time: 7:30 PM IST 

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium

Head-to-head in T20 World Cups

India Wins: 5

Pakistan Wins: 0

N/R: 0

Stat Attack (India vs Pakistan in T20 World Cups)

Most Runs: Virat Kohli - 254 runs

Highest Score: Virat Kohli - 78*

Most Wickets: Umar Gul

Best Bowling Figures: Mohammad Asif - 4/18

Battles to watch out

• KL Rahul vs Shaheen Afridi

• Virat Kohli vs Hasan Ali

• Jasprit Bumrah vs Babar Azam

• Varun Chakravarthy vs Mohammed Rizwan

Historically, it has been Indian batters who have defeated Pakistani bowlers in World Cups, and a similar storyline can be expected on the 24th evening. It is no surprise that India will be the clear favourites heading into this fixture, but the Virat Kohli-led team won’t take the opposition lightly or show any sign of complacency because a lot of elements are at stake and the stage makes it all the more important.

Squads

India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammad Shami.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shoaib Malik.