Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 155
Win percentage while batting first: 78.95%
Pitch conditions:
- With a very short gap between the conclusion of the Indian T20 Cricket League and the beginning of the Cricket T20 World Cup 2021, the pitches in the UAE may not have gone through drastic changes in terms of their nature.
- The pitch at Dubai International Stadium looked low and slow during the warmup matches of the Cricket T20 World Cup, with India winning both their contests against England and Australia and Pakistan losing to South Africa but winning against West Indies.
- With 63.49% of the wickets coming their way, fast bowlers have enjoyed a greater success rate at Dubai compared to the spin bowlers, who have taken 36.51% of the dismissals.
Weather prediction:
It will be a bright, sunny, and a not-so-hot day in Dubai on Sunday with temperature reaching a high of 33°C during the afternoon, from which the mercury will drop down steadily to be static at 31°C in the evening. The humidity levels on Sunday evening will also remain static at 62% during the match hours.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Matches played: 8
India won: 6
Pakistan won: 1
No result: 1
Last 5 matches:
India won: 4
Pakistan won: 1
No result: –
Top 3 players from India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Top 3 players from Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant
Top 5 players from Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
It is a no-brainer to stack up your fantasy cricket XI teams with plenty of batting options for the mega contest in the Cricket T20 World Cup between India and Pakistan on Sunday evening at the Dubai International Stadium. The pitch in this global city has usually supported batsmen and it remains to be seen which batting side among India and Pakistan will come out good on the match day. While India have the likes of KL Rahul, Rohit sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya to pick from, Pakistan have one of the best batsmen in the format who is also their captain in Babar Azam, along with the mercurial Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and the venerable duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
In a contest between the 2nd-ranked team in the world, India, against the 3rd best team in Pakistan, there should not be much difference especially when the difference in the rating between them is only 6 points. On paper, both the teams look extremely dangerous and potent enough to go the distance in the Cricket T20 World Cup 2021, but it is, for obvious reasons, India, who are considered favourites for this contest given the kind of promise that they carry ranks and most importantly, the quality of cricketers that they have been producing over the last several years. It is not to be implied here that Pakistan are not producing quality cricketers, but they are not playing consistently well enough to be considered as the title contenders or even one of the most dangerous teams in the world. That said, Pakistan remains a very unpredictable side and this is why this contest between the two arch rivals promises to be a thriller as it has always been.
MORE INFORMATION: India and Pakistan usually do not play bilateral cricket anymore. It is only in the Cricket tournaments when they are forced to face-off given that there are points at stake and neither team wants to squander the advantage of earning maximum points by winning. India have been a far better team on paper as well as on the field against Pakistan in all Cricket tournaments, and the same will be expected on Sunday night for Kohli’s team to come out all guns blazing against Pakistan, who can be dangerous yet unpredictable on any given day. Both the teams have excellent batting and bowling line-ups, but they are also certainly missing two star spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Usman Qadir, who are not a part of their respective squads for this T20 World Cup. While Chahal is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, Qadir, the son of Pakistan great Abdul Qadir who was once aiming to play international cricket for Australia, has been one of the best bowlers for Pakistan in the shortest format this year.
Players’ form: Pakistan will bank on the experience as well as exploits of their four key batsmen who have been among plenty of runs this year. Rizwan has amassed a mind-boggling 752 runs in only 17 matches at an average of 94 this year, as he stands tall among batsmen all across the world in terms of being the best in the format this year. Babar has scored 523 runs in 17 matches at 37, whereas Fakhar and Hafeez also have contributed heavily with the bat in the team scores. The same, however, cannot be said for the Indian batsmen who have not played as many T20Is as Pakistan. Kohli has been India’s best batsman this year with 239 runs in 5 matches. India’s bowling department, meanwhile, carries plenty of promise with Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the bowling attack in this Cricket event the company of Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and a few others.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
India (IND): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya/Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan (PAK): Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Haris Rauf.
FANTASY XI: KL Rahul (c), Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Rizwan (vc&wk), Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Hafeez, Ravindra Jadeja, Hasan Ali, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
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Confident India look to maintain domination over unpredictable Pakistan
Before going further into the preview for India versus Pakistan contest in the Cricket T20 World Cup 2021, Match No 16, a few starts and facts must be stated.
Pakistan has played 17 T20Is in this year from which they have 9 wins and a few washed out contests. On the other hand, India have 4 wins and as many defeats from 8 matches that they have played so far in the shorter format in the year 2021.
India have Pakistan has played a total of 8 T20Is in the history. India clearly have an edge over their arch-rivals given that they have 6 victories and only 1 defeat as well as a contest with no-result.
In the last 5 meetings between these two teams, India have recorded victories in 4 matches which all have been consecutive.
Pakistan, even though they are ranked 3rd in the world, will have to up their game to a different level in order to beat this rampant Indian cricket team which is looking primed up.
India will certainly be considered favourites for the contest on Sunday night in Dubai given that they are coming off a very successful Indian T20 Cricket League season in 2021 in which all of their players had a great run. Their key batsmen in Rahul, Rohit, Kohli and even Pant and Suryakumar were among runs at various stages of the game tournament, whereas their bowlers also enjoyed a successful run in the lead up to the Cricket event.
While Indian cricketers had plenty of exposure to the conditions and pitches across venues in the UAE while playing in the Indian T20 League, Pakistan were robbed of a golden opportunity to prepare for the Cricket event after New Zealand and England both pulled out from their respective tours to the Asian country citing security issues.
Pakistan were expecting to play around 10 matches to prepare for the Cricket T20 World Cup 2021, but the cancellations of the tours from New Zealand and England prevented them from having any opportunity to get going. Pakistan also had mixed returns in the two warmup matches ahead of the main round of this tournament, beating West Indies but losing comprehensively to South Africa, who are certainly not considered among forces in the shortest format.
Pakistan will, however, pin all their hopes on the batting might that they have carried in this tournament which consists of Babar, Rizwan, Zaman and Hafeez who all have been among plenty of runs in the shortest format this year. In the bowling department, Pakistan will be putting their hopes on the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim and Harris Rauf.
India have traditionally dominated Pakistan in all Cricket meetings and the same will be expected on Sunday night from a professional and clinical Indian team against an unpredictable Pakistan side.
While Pakistan did not make any changes in their batting lineup for the two warmup matches against West Indies and South Africa, India ensured to have to give all their key players some game time ahead of the main round. With no Deepak Chahar in their squad of 15, India are likely to go ahead with the combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah as their fast bowling attack whereas it remains to be seen if Ravichandran Ashwin finds a place in the team as the sole spinner, and if Hardik Pandya is good enough to go solely as a batsman.
