ICC World Cup 2019 Match 22, India v Pakistan: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

The blockbuster clash of the World Cup, simply because of the history between the two nations and the relative scarcity of India-Pakistan face-offs in the past 11 years, is here. Passionate Indian and Pakistani fans will vie for bragging rights at Old Trafford even as their teams compete on the field.

India have had the better of Pakistan in World Cup clashes but recent history in ICC tournaments is in Pakistan’s favour – they beat India in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy. Even though India have played better cricket in this World Cup – they have beaten South Africa and Australia, while the third against New Zealand was abandoned due to rain — they’ll  take their arch rivals lightly at their own peril.

Pakistan have lost to the West Indies and Australia – the latter coming in a close encounter in Taunton – but have beaten England. They have also had to share a point with Sri Lanka after their second match was abandoned due to rain. In the games they have played, though, their inconsistency with bat and ball has been troubling. The batting line-up crumbled in their last encounter against Australia – they slipped from 136/2 to 160/6, chasing 308 – and the bowlers conceded runs generously.

But there have been positives, too. Wahab Riaz’s cameo against Australia aside, his and Mohammad Amir’s efforts at the death have been noteworthy. Amir also bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in the Australia clash even as Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed and Babar Azam added to their already burgeoning run tally.

India, on the other hand, have been dominant, although the injury to Shikhar Dhawan has come as a setback. Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have scored a century each and captain Virat Kohli a half-century. KL Rahul is most likely to take Dhawan’s place at the opener’s slot, making way for Vijay Shankar at No. 4. The rest of the line-up should remain the same. Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have all been among the wickets.

This game too is likely to be affected by rain. It rained in Manchester on Friday and the forecast for Sunday shows a 70% chance of rain. The DLS calculations and the soggy nature of the outfield may play a crucial role in team selections.

Head to head

Pakistan have never beaten India in the World Cup. India have beaten their arch rivals in all 6 World Cup games so far as well as in their most recent clashes – two games in the Asia Cup last year. Overall, Pakistan lead the head-to-head tally 73-54 against India but it is the ignominious World Cup record they’ll try to break.

Key players

Virat Kohli (India): Kohli scored a hundred in his last World Cup clash against Pakistan, in 2015 World. He also scored a half-century against them in a Champions Trophy league-stage match in Edgbaston. He is due for a century at this World Cup and he may look to get it in this game.

Babar Azam (Pakistan): Babar,Pakistan’s answer to Kohli, has scored two half-centuries and a century in his last 5 ODI innings, and has looked in good touch in each of the 3 innings he’s played in this World Cup. He too is lacking a World Cup hundred and there’ll be no better stage to get one.

Likely XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir.

Prediction

India maintain their unbeaten run against Pakistan in World Cup tournaments as an inconsistent Pakistani batting line-up crumbles under pressure.