R Premadasa Stadium hosts the mother of all rivalries as Pakistan triumphs in the toss against India, inserting the hosts to bat first in this crucial T20 World Cup group game. Captain Salman Agha’s call leverages bowling strengths early.
India counters with fresh blood: Abhishek Sharma replaces Sanju Samson for batting punch, Kuldeep Yadav subs Arshdeep Singh to fortify middle-overs spin. Unchanged Pakistan eyes upsets.
India’s superiority is clear: 7-1 in World Cup T20s, 12-3 overall. Venue stats shine for India—11/15 wins, including 4/5 in 2012. Spinners and rain could level the playing field.
Unbeaten runs continue: India’s 29r over USA, 93r vs Namibia top Group A. Pakistan’s 3w win on Netherlands, 32r vs USA secures second spot.
India’s eleven: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, SKY (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Bumrah.
Pakistan’s: Sam Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, M Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (wk), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.
Expect fireworks as batting meets bowling in a contest where legacy meets ambition.