T20 World Cup 2021, IND vs PAK (Super 12) Preview: Can India continue its dominance, or Pakistan strikes back?
The 2021 ICC T20 World Cup gets intense with the beginning of the Super 12s. Meanwhile, India and Pakistan are set for an epic clash in Dubai on Sunday, as here is the all-important preview.
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FollowThe excitement is becoming even more prominent as the Super 12s of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 have gotten underway from Saturday. Meanwhile, Sunday would be historical, as arch-rivals India and Pakistan of the Group 2 clash at the Dubai International Stadium. With fans desperately awaiting this mouth-watering clash, we present this vital preview.
Current form
India is coming off a good run in the warm-ups, winning both its ties, although it lost its previous T20I series in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Pakistan had a mixed stint in the warm-ups, winning and losing one each, while it won its previous four-match T20I series in the Windies 1-0, thanks to the rain washing out the other three games.
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Team strength & weaknesses, and players to watch out
As far as the teams are concerned, India is evenly balanced in all departments. As for its strength and weaknesses, it's all parallel. Among the players to watch out would be skipper Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, whose form has been volatile of late, along with KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma, who have been deadly with the bat of late. The onus would be upon Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur and Varun Chakravarthy among the bowlers.
Considering Pakistan, its strength would undoubtedly be its batting, with as many as 12 batters in the side, compared to its nine bowlers. With just three specialist bowlers, the department could turn out to be Pakistan's weakness. As for the players to watch out, skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Afridi.
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Injury concerns and head-to-head
None of the sides has any injury concerns moving into the Super 12s. The two teams have played each other on eight instances in the format, with India leading 7-1. In the competition, India leads 5-0 of the five encounters.
Weather and pitch report
The Dubai weather would be heated, with an expected temperature of 33 degrees and 58% humidity. The pitch would remain somewhat slow but would assist both batters and the bowlers. Also, keeping in mind the dew factor at night, the side winning the toss could go ahead and chase this one down.
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Probable XI
Pakistan (confirmed 12): Babar Azam (c), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf.
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
Fantasy XI
Batters: Rohit, Azam (vc), Rahul (c), Zaman- Rohit, Rahul and Azam would give the perfect start at the top-order, while Zaman would consolidate in the middle. Rahul's deadly form makes him the skipper, while Azam's security makes him his deputy.
Wicketkeepers: Rizwan, Kishan- Rizwan and Kishan have been in decent form with the bat, while the latter is likely to dominate the department.
All-rounders: Jadeja, Hafeez- Jadeja has been highly influential in all departments of late, while Hafeez has been doing the same with his bat recently.
Bowlers: Shami, Bumrah, Afridi- An all-out pace attack, as the trio have been as lethal with their pace as they can be.
Match and live streaming details
Date and day: October 24, 2021 (Sunday)
Venue: Dubai International Stadium
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi (Also available in HD, along with regional languages)
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
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