The much-anticipated clash of T20 World Cup 2022 between India & Pakistan is all set to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23rd October (Sunday) at 1:30 PM IST. India, after getting thrashed by Pakistan in last year's edition of the T20 World Cup, will be ready to pull up their socks to make a great comeback at this marque event.
A few months ago, India and Pakistan clashed against each other in Asia Cup 2022 where India ended up winning the group stage match by 5 wickets while Pakistan ended up beating India by 5 wickets in the Super four stage of that tournament. Pakistan would heavily rely on their opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam to put up a solid show with the bat once again and this time Indian bowlers would be expected to come with better plans against them.
India's T20I performance in 2022 has been phenomenal as they have gone on to win all the bilateral series they have played. While they couldn't go on to win the Asia Cup, India remain the title contenders for this tournament. They have a different setup this time around than their previous appearance at the event.
Under captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid they look better prepared with the resources they have and Suryakumar Yadav's consistency with the bat could be the deciding factor of India's fate in this T20 World Cup. Despite missing the service of key bowler Jasprit Bumrah, the Men in Blue still look like a very strong side and the contest against their arch-rivals Pakistan is sure to attract the eyeballs of cricket fans.
Numbers and Stats before the start of the IND vs PAK game:
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 11
India - 8
Pakistan - 3
2 - Babar Azam needs 59 more runs to become 2nd batsman after Aaron Finch to smash 2000 runs as captain in T20Is.
Most runs as captain in men's T20I:
Aaron Finch - 2142
Babar Azam - 1941
Kane Williamson - 1826
3 - Rohit Sharma will become 3rd player to lead India in the men's T20 World Cup after MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
3 - Shaheen Afridi needs 3 more wickets to pick 50 wickets for Pakistan in T20Is.
5 - India have won 5 out of 6 times against Pakistan in men's T20 WC. The only time India lost a T20 World Cup game to Pakistan was in 2021.
34 - Rohit Sharma will surpass MS Dhoni for playing the most matches for India in the men's T20 World Cup.
Most matches for India in men's T20 WC:
MS Dhoni - 33
Rohit Sharma - 33 (will play his 34th game against PAK)
Yuvraj Singh - 31
Suresh Raina - 26
226 - Virat Kohli holds the record for smashing the most runs (226) vs Pakistan in the men's T20 World Cup from just 4 innings.
Virat Kohli vs Pakistan in T20 WC:
78*(61) in Colombo(RPS), 2012
36*(32) in Mirpur, 2014
55*(37) in Kolkata, 2016
57(49) in Dubai(DSC), 2021
821 - Mohammad Rizwan has smashed the most T20I runs in 2022 so far.
Most runs in men's T20I during 2022 so far:
Mohammad Rizwan - 821 (18 inns)
Suryakumar Yadav - 801 (23 inns)
Sikandar Raza - 652 (18 inns)
1000 - Hardik Pandya needs 11 more runs and Rishabh Pant needs 39 more runs to complete 1000 runs in T20Is.