The wait is over. The moment that fans have been waiting for is here. It will not have any bearing on the standings or venues for the next stage. Who cares? It’s India versus Pakistan. That too in the Gulf.
The setting may not be the famous Sharjah ground but come Wednesday, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, choc-a-bloc with 25,000 fans, could easily resemble Lahore or Ludhiana, Mumbai or Multan or even Karachi or Kolkata. The scorching heat will not matter. After all, the ‘arch-rivals’ have not faced each other since the Champions Trophy final last year.
To add to the razzmatazz, cricket stalwarts and entertainment celebrities are expected to descend on a city that never sleeps for the high-voltage match.
Avenge a defeat
Irrespective of the external factors, the intensity in the middle will surely be its peak. Rohit Sharma’s men will be gunning to avenge the Champions Trophy final mauling, while Pakistan will hope to pin down India, without Virat Kohli, to set the tone for the Super 4 stage.
Moreover, as Pakistan pacer Usman Khan stated, young cricketers from both sides would be desperate to make a mark in what is widely billed as the “match that matters the most” for both the nations.
Over the last decade, the India-Pakistan rivalry hasn’t been on display on the field as frequently as it was in the previous two. Over the last decade, the two have faced each other 18 times across formats. Such is the historical significance of the clash that it remains one of the most important matches of a player’s career from either country.
Besides setting the tone for the big Super 4 clash over the weekend, both teams — having made short work of qualifier Hong Kong in their opening clash — will be looking to strengthen their team combinations.
While India will be hoping to get a settled middle-order ahead of the next year’s World Cup, Pakistan will be in a dilemma whether to rest lead pacer Mohammad Amir or not.
Ravi Shastri, the India head coach, will not be in the commentators’ box. Irrespective of the team combinations, as the former all-rounder would famously say, “one can expect a cracker of a game”.
The teams (from):
India: Rohit Sharma (capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, K.L. Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, M.S. Dhoni (w.k.), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed.
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt. & w.k.), Fakhar Zaman, Imam Ul Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz, Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Shinwari and Shaheen Afridi.
Umpires: Marais Erasmus & Ruchira Palligurya.
Match starts 5 p.m. IST
