Match 12 of 48 in the 2023 Cricket World Cup will mark the latest instalment in arguably the greatest cricketing rivalry, with the host nation India taking on arch-rivals Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.
The rivalry between these sides dates all the way back to 1957, and while Pakistan have been the more successful side as far as the head-to-head standings go, this will be the first time that they face the Men in Blue in India in over seven years.
Match preview
India enter this encounter with momentum, having achieved a convincing victory against Afghanistan by restricting them to 272-8 and almost effortlessly chasing down the target in just 35 overs with 8 wickets in hand at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in midweek.
Skipper Rohit Sharma led his side from the front, scoring 131 runs from just 84 balls and with that, he also brought up his seventh World Cup ODI ton, making him the only player in history to achieve that feat.
The captain was well-supported by his predecessor Virat Kohli, who added 55 off 56 balls, continuing his incredible form from his match-winning performance against Australia the previous week.
After the spinners dominated in the first match against the Wallabies, Jasprit Bumrah led the way with the ball in the last match, recording 4/39 in his 10 overs and has moved to second in the race for the leading wicket-taker.
While they will take nothing for granted, India will still have their tails up heading into this match, having demolished Pakistan by a massive 228 runs in the Super Four en route to claiming the Asia Cup just last month.
That loss marked the fourth consecutive defeat that Pakistan have conceded to India in one-day internationals since September 2018, and they will see this match as the perfect opportunity to get their revenge on their old foes.
The Men in Green's confidence will also be at an all-time high after they managed to pull off an ODI World Cup record-breaking run chase of 345 in their last match against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
With Babar Azam failing to fire as yet in the tournament, Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique stepped up in a big way, scoring 131 not out and 113, respectively, to give their side a perfect two-from-two start to the competition.
Fair to say, it was an incredible way for young Shafique to mark the occasion, as he was playing his first-ever World Cup match in any format and has given Pakistan the confidence in knowing they have a reliable batsman at the top of the order, which has been something of a trouble area for them over the past few years.
However, Pakistan's bowling attack is yet to show the type of devastating form we have become accustomed to, and one has to wonder how they will stack up here on a spin-friendly surface and against an Indian attack that features Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
Team News
Shubman Gill is still recovering from dengue fever, and while he has joined the squad in Ahmedabad, reports indicate that the star batsman is still a major doubt to make the starting lineup.
Considering their performances so far, it would not come as a surprise to see India go unchanged into this match, though Mohammed Shami could sneak into the starting 11 after Mohammed Siraj went for 76 in his nine overs against Afghanistan.
Having failed to deliver an innings of any substance in the last two matches, Imam-ul-Haq could be on the chopping block for this match, which could open the door for Fakhar Zaman to return to partner Shafique at the top of the order.
Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed are expected to provide the spin options for the Green Shirts, while Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali will share the new ball.
Team A squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Team B squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim
Series so far
India
Match One: India won by 6 wickets
Australia - 199 (49.3)
India - 201/4 (41.2)
Match Two: India won by 8 wickets
Afghanistan - 272/8 (50)
India - 273/2 (35)
Pakistan
Match One: Pakistan won by 81 runs
Pakistan - 286 (49)
Netherlands - 205 (41)
Match Two: Pakistan won by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka - 344/9 (50)
Pakistan - 345/4 (48.2)
We say: India to win
Pakistan never enter World Cup tournaments as favourites, but more often than not, they find their way into the latter stages. However, India made a statement by beating them by a big margin in the Asia Cup, and they seem to have found the perfect combinations at both ends of their lineup. With the best part of 132,000 fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium behind them, we fancy the host nation to claim the win in this one.
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