The biggest rivalry of Cricketing universe, India vs Pakistan is on Saturday at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. They will face each other in World Cup 2023 group stage match. India’s head-to-head record against Pakistan at 50-over World Cups is unblemished, ‘men in blue’ side having won all seven contests between the two rivals since they first met in Australia in 1992. Though Pakistan have recently managed their memorable win against India at the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and then again at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021. So, the task for Rohit’s men will not be so easy.
Due to dengue incident Indian dependable opener Shubhman Gill was unable to play India’s first two match against Australia and Afghanistan. Rohit fronted the pre-match press conference on Friday. The India skipper was optimistic on Gill’s fitness. He said, “99 percent he is available. We’ll see tomorrow about that.” If Gill is in the squad, Ishan Kishan will miss out the selection despite he managed a knock of 47 runs against Afghanistan.
The weather in Ahmedabad on Saturday, is anticipated to be extremely favourable for the game. The temperature is expected to remain at approximately 35 degrees Celsius, with humidity levels of around 47%. This weather update and not having a forecast of rain will be a relief for cricket fans all around the world.
The pitch of Narendra Modi Stadium usually used to favour batters. presenting a good batting surface. However, the initial few overs might present a hurdle to the batters. It can give the inclination towards the seamers that time. This is a Day Night match. So, there are chances of dew impacting the playing conditions as the time goes.
Expexted Indian Squad for the Match : Ishan Kishan/Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami.