Match Details
Date: 23 October 2022
Time : 01:30 PM IST
Venue : Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Ball-by-ball commentary : SportsTiger App
Preview
The biggest cricketing rivalry will come alive on 23 October when India and Pakistan will lock horns at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The arch-rivals will be facing each other after more than 45 days having last played against each other at Asia Cup 2022. The memories of last year will come rushing back when the two teams meet on Sunday. India would like to have a different result than last year. Meanwhile, Pakistan would like to make it 2-12.
Pitch Report
The 22-yards at the MCG is considered to be one of the most competitive surfaces in the world. It offers a fine balance between bat and ball. While the bowlers get some assistance early on with mostly genuine bounce, as it gets old, the batsmen can play their strokes freely. However, generally, the spinners do not get much of purchase at the MCG.
Team Analysis
India
India is changed side than last year with a new captain-coach duo working at the helm of things. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are known for their man management, and they have shown it in the past year. Although India was ousted from Asia Cup after losing to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, they will back themselves to come good at the T20 World Cup. The batting order looks sorted with the top four spots sealed. Rahul and Sharma will open the innings while Kohli takes his usual No.3. Suryakumar Yadav is well-suited to bat at No.4.
If Pant plays, he will bat at No.5 followed by Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik. The only issue will be India’s bowling with no Jasprit Bumrah around. A lot will depend on how Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar perform.
SportsTiger Playing XI of India
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
Pakistan
The Babar Azam-led side has been doing well in T20Is. After losing the home T20I series against England, Pakistan clinched the tri-series in New Zealand. The top-order looks sorted with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan opening the innings and Fakhar Zaman batting at No.3. Iftikhar Ahmed is expected to bat at No.4 while Asif Ali and Haider Ali will follow him in the batting lineup. Mohammad Nawaz will be most probably batting at No.7 with Shadab Khan coming after him. Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf will form the pace attack for the Men in Green. It is to be seen if Shan Masood bats at No.3 or will Zaman get a nod. The latter has a higher chance with Masood getting injured during a practice session.
SportsTiger Playing XI of Pakistan
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah
Match Prediction
Conclusion
India have improved a lot from last year. They have recently beaten Australia and South Africa and also won the warm-up game against Australia. Although the Men in Green will pose a strong challenge, the Rohit Sharma-led team is expected to come out victorious on Sunday.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.