Key Points
- Abhishek Sharma could miss the match against Pakistan if he fails to recover from a stomach bug.
- Sanju Samson could replace Abhishek if he is unable to play.
- Among the bowlers, India could include Kuldeep Yadav to bolster their spin attack.
India-Pakistan cricket rivalry continues to stand the test of time.
The most-coveted rivalry in the world of cricket, the India versus Pakistan showdown nearly didn't happen in the ongoing T20 World Cup before Pakistan government had a late change of heart and withdraw the boycott call of their match against their neighbours.
Come Sunday, the cricketing world will come to a standstill when India and Pakistan clash in the T20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday.
But the intensity of the rivalry has gone down in the last decade with India surging way ahead in terms of talent. And this also clearly reflects in their superior head to head record in World Cups across the two formats, with India leading 7-1 in T20 World Cups and 8-0 in ODIs.
Once again, India looks vastly superior and the favourite not only to win against Pakistan but also become the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title.
Batting concerns for Team India
For India though, there are some areas where they need to tighten up. Dashing opener Abhishek Sharma could miss yet another match if he fails to recover from the stomach bug and his replacement Sanju Samson hasn't made the most of his opportunities.
It remains to be seen if India persist with Samson despite him not converting his start against Namibia or if they will bring in all-rounder Washington Sundar to add another spin option on a pitch expected to help the slow bowlers.
India has suffered batting collapses in both their matches in the T20 World Cup. Against the USA they slipped to 46/4 inside the Powerplay before Captain Suryakumar Yadav's blistering 49-ball 85 spared them the blushes at the Wankhede stadium.
Against Namibia, India lost five wickets in the last 11 balls for the addition of just four runs.
India has been over-dependent on their openers -- Abhishek in the last year or so and Ishan Kishan more recently -- to give them flying starts. And whenever they have failed to get going in the Powerplay, the middle order has struggled to cope.
India's attacking approach hasn't found it easy on the testing pitches in the first two games and have struggled to adapt to the conditions.
Tariq a big threat for India?
The pitch for Sunday's game at the R Premadasa stadium is again expected to be tough for the batters, as was evident in the Australia-Zimbabwe match on Friday. Zimbabwe's pace duo of Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans were brilliant with their change of pace as Australia's famed batting line-up came down crashing for 146 after being set 170 for victory.
Pakistan's spin-heavy bowling attack could cause a lot of problems for the Indian batters if the pitch does give some assistance. Usman Tariq, with his unusual pause-and-sling-delivery action, could be Pakistan's main weapon against the Indians.
Leg-spinner Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed have been in good form, while Mohammad Nawaz is a difficult customer to score boundaries off in the middle overs.
Will Kuldeep replace Arshdeep?
The Pakistan batting line-up doesn't look threatening though and it would make sense for the Indians to include their match-winning wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav to partner the in-form Varun Chakravarthy, who registered an excellent spell of 3/7 in two overs against Namibia, with Axar Patel also very dependable in the middle overs.
India also has a lot of options in both pace department too. They have three world class pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, who on their day can single-handedly run through any batting line-up.
If India does decide to bring in Kuldeep, then their only option is to leave out Arshdeep as they are unlikely to drop a batter.
Kuldeep did well in the three matches he played against Pakistan in the Asia Cup last year, picking up eight wickets in four matches at an impressive economy rate of 6.58. In comparison, Chakravarthy has managed just three wickets in four T20Is against Pakistan with an economy rate of seven.
With some rain forecast for Sunday's match, the unpredictable weather could make the contest a lot more even as a rain-shortened match or conditions favouring the bowlers will negate India's superiority.
In the batting, India will look towards Tilak Varma to carry on after getting off to starts, having fallen in the 20s in both games, while Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh will need to make more meaningful contributions down the order.
Probable XI: Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh/Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.
Will India bring back Kuldeep Yadav? Will Sanju Samson retain his place?
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