World T20 Series 2022

Super 12, Group 2, Match 16- IND vs PAK

Preview 

India will play arch rivals Pakistan in their opening encounter of the T20 World Series 2022 on Sunday, October 23 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. After the humiliation in the 2021 World Series, Rohit Sharma and co will be out for vengeance. Since then, these two sides have met twice in the Asia T20, with each winning a game. All eyes will be on the weather in Melbourne on Sunday, as the forecast is dismal. According to the Australian Meteorological Department, there is a 60% chance of rain. If the rain stays away, these two teams will put on a great show. India have been the form team in T20Is this year. They have won 22 games and are in fantastic form.

The Rohit Sharma-led team also defeated Australia in the warm-up and is looking promising. Death bowling looks a little concerning, and India will rely on Harshal and Shami to deliver. Pakistan will once again prioritise the middle order. Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, and Iftikhar Ahmed have all shown promise, but have not been consistent. Shaheen Shah Afridi returns, and it will be interesting to see who Pakistan replaces him with. Ahead of this mouth watering clash, let us have a look at how these two sides will fare out in Sunday’s tie. 

Match Details

Match: IND vs PAK, 16th Match, Super 12 Group 2, T20 World Series 2022

Date: Sunday, October 23, 2022

Time: 1:30 PM

Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne

Pitch and Weather Report

The game will take place at the MCG. The pitch out here is a batter's dream. Long boundaries are on either side of the wicket. Spinners will have fun bowling as batters will look to clear the long boundaries.

The weather report is favourable, since there has been no rain since Saturday morning. This news has undoubtedly boosted the spirits of fans in Melbourne and around the world. The Australian Meteorological Department projected a 60% chance of rain for the IND versus PAK match. However, the weather in Melbourne appears to be great for the time being.

Squads

IND- Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami

Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.

PAK- Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood.

Standby Players: Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.

Probable Playing XIs

IND: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad  Shami/ Harshal Patel, Arashdeep Singh

PAK: Mohammed Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shan Masood, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

Hot Fantasy Picks

(i) Wicket Keeper

Mohammad Rizwan: Rizwan is ranked first in the world, and his ability to get his team out of difficulties from time to time is what distinguishes him from the competition. His consistency is commendable, and Pakistan will be counting on him to deliver once more in the World Cup.

(ii) Batters

Suryakumar Yadav: Suryakumar Yadav is a 360-degree player for India who can easily manipulate the field. His presence has provided much-needed consistency to the Indian batting lineup, since he is a player who can be counted on. He scored a quickfire 50 in the warm up game against Australia. 

Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli is a key player against any opponent in the world. His T20I stats versus Pakistan indicate how much he enjoys playing against them. He has scored 406 runs at an average of 67.66 and a strike rate of 119.06 against the men in green. 

(iii) All Rounders 

Hardik Pandya: Pandya is arguably one of the best all rounders in white ball cricket right now. He has a stellar record against Pakistan and he will be hoping to continue his good show on Sunday. 

Mohammad Nawaz: Nawaz played a pivotal part in his side’s victory against India in the Asia T20. The Pakistan left-arm spinner and surprise-weapon batter will look to be the standout player for his side.

 (iv) Bowlers 

Shaheen Shah Afridi: The young Pakistani left-arm bowler had to miss a few months due to injury. He is now healthy and ready to return to the team. He would look to take advantage of the pace and bounce of the Australian wickets to cause problems for the opposition batters.

Match Prediction 

India and Pakistan have played 11 T20Is against each other, with India winning 8 of them and Pakistan winning only three. According to our India vs Pakistan match prediction, India are favourites to win this game based on current form and head-to-head record.

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket 

Team 1

Team 2