The T20 World Cup Super 12 stage gets underway on Saturday, with host Australia taking on New Zealand in Group A. However, the big match is slated for Sunday when India take on arch-rival Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
India vs Pakistan encounters these days have become a rarity and are mostly limited to international competitions. Hence, India-Pakistan matches often bring out the worst in both sets of fans. Additionally, in recent years, one-sided anticlimaxes on the field have frequently replaced the pre-game excitement. However, this is a new tournament and the platform is much bigger and both the teams will start afresh.
Big-Ticket Match
Both India and Pakistan are brimming with confidence ahead of their first encounter at the T20 World Cup in Melbourne. India will start with a few challenges in the absence of their strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah. However, the Indian team's batting line is quite strong, which has to make up for the not-so-strong bawling attack.
On the other hand, Pakistan's performance has been above average. This match may be one-sided, but it won't come as a surprise if it goes all the way to the final game.
The two teams last met at the recently concluded Asia Cup. And the two teams once again reminded everyone of the electricity their cricketing collisions can generate. Both games were seesawing tactical battles that went down to the wire, with India winning the first with two balls remaining and Pakistan the second with one ball to spare.
Clash of the Titans
Suryakumar Yadav is undoubtedly the best T20 batter in the world right now, but he hasn't had much of a chance to demonstrate his abilities in a World Cup game because he only batted three times during the previous edition of the competition, twice in the dying stages of modest chases. Getting him out quickly might be essential to Pakistan's success.
Shaheen Shah Afridi is making his comeback after a protracted injury absence, but if you've seen a video of the Rahmanullah Gurbaz ball, you'll know he's actually back. At the T20 World Cup last year, Afridi's new-ball burst was the key factor in Pakistan defeating India, and how well India performs may depend on how little damage they permit him to do.
India's bowling attack will require them to make two important decisions. One is picking three of their four best pacers. The issue of spin is another one. Mohammad Nawaz is frequently used as a floater to disrupt this rhythm even though Pakistan's theoretical top-six batters are expected to consist of five right-handed batters.
Pakistan has five excellent fast bowlers at their disposal, but they can probably only choose three. The only other spot will likely be contested by Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim, with Afridi and Haris Rauf being lock-ins. Moreover, Fakhar Zaman is unavailable, and Pakistan is keeping an eye on Indian batsmen.
Here's How to watch the match.
When and Where
The India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup Match 2022 will be played on Sunday, 23 October 2022, at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne city. The match will start at 7:00 pm local. In the UK, the match will start at 8:00 am GMT and in India, the match will start at 1:30 pm IST.
In the US, the match starts at 12:30 am EST.
Where to Watch
The T20 World Cup 2022 match between India and Pakistan will be aired live on the Star Sports Network in India.
Fans can watch the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match on Times Internet (Willow) in the United States and Canada, while in the UK the match will be aired on Sky Sports.
In Australia, the match will be broadcast on Fox Sports, Channel Nine, while in Pakistan, it will be aired on PTV
How to Live Stream
In India, the live streaming of India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
In the United States and Canada, the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match will be live streamed on ESPN+ and Hostar, respectively.
In the UK, the matches will be live streamed on Sky Sports.
In Australia, the match will be live streamed on Kayo, , while in Pakistan, it will be live streamed on ARY Digital
Here's how to watch the match in other parts of the world.
Bangladesh: Rabbithole
USA, Central & South America and Mexico: ESPN+
Caribbean: ESPN
United Kingdom: Sky Sports
Sub Saharan Africa: SuperSport
Singapore: StarHub
Malaysia: Yupp TV
Hong Kong: Yupp TV
PNG, Fiji & Pacific Islands: PNG Digicel
Rest of the World (Continental Europe, SE Asia & Central /South America): Yupp TV
