NEW DELHI: When the old rivals square off in their much-anticipated
T20 World Cup
match on Sunday, a confident and well-adjusted India would attempt to take advantage of an unpredictable Pakistan's weak state and lack of familiarity with the tough conditions in New York.
The tournament's biggest crowd is anticipated to attend the flagship match, which is scheduled to take place at the recently built 34,000-seat
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
at Eisenhower Park on the suburbs of New York.
T20 WORLD CUP: SCHEDULE | POINTS TABLE
The 22-yard pitch is still a hot topic of discussion going into this highly anticipated match because it has already drawn a lot of criticism for being unpredictable, a fact that the ICC has formally acknowledged.
Only twice have teams scored more than 100 runs in all six innings of the three games that have been played at the stadium thus far. A few former players have openly questioned whether the low scoring format would help sell cricket in the United States by way of the showcase.
The Adelaide Oval groundskeeper Damian Hough oversaw the installation of the venue's four drop-in pitches in April, but they haven't fully settled yet.
Concerns about the safety of the hitters have also been raised by the uneven bounce of the pitch, particularly in light of the fact that Indian captain
Rohit Sharma
was forced to abandon batting during the opening match of the tournament against Ireland on June 5 due to a blow to his shoulder.
"I don't know what to expect from the pitch to be honest. We will prepare as if the conditions are going to be like this (for Pakistan game). This is going to be a kind of game where all XI of us will need to contribute," Rohit had said after the game against Ireland.
The ICC was forced to issue a statement the day following India's match, addressing the mounting apprehensions about the pitches ready for this T20 World Cup's New York leg.
"The ICC recognise that the pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we would have all wanted," the statement read.
But the Pakistani squad hasn't yet adjusted to the Nassau Stadium's conditions.
After a surprising loss to tournament newcomers USA on Thursday night, they flew into New York and rested the following day.
Babar Azam
and his team have therefore had little time to adjust to these challenging conditions, which could be a disadvantage coming into this important match.
Furthermore, losing to India could make their chances of qualifying considerably more difficult.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was not included in the playing XI against Ireland by the Indian think tank, who instead selected an additional specialist fast bowler.
The plan is anticipated to stay the same on Sunday, especially since the game will likely be played on an underutilized center turf. On June 8, South Africa and the Netherlands will play a match in the Nassau stadium on a different track.
The team management may, however, think about including Kuldeep given his recent performance and his favorable matchups against Pakistani hitters, particularly Babar.
If so, one of Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel might have to miss out. With Rishabh Pant occupying the No. 3 position and Rohit and Virat Kohli slated to stay as openers, the batting order is essentially decided.
After the first shock, Pakistan, on the other hand, would be trying to get their act together.
Against the USA, they proved to be renownedly unpredictable as the hosts emerged victorious in the Super Over.
Babar mostly attributed the defeat to the bowlers, although he cannot ignore the lackluster play of the team's hitters, including himself.
The skipper needed 44 deliveries to make 43 deliveries, which is far from a respectable strike rate in the shortest format. He would want to perform better.
And it won't be shocking if the deadly version of Pakistan's bowling attack lead by Shaheen Afridi decides to show up on Sunday and get the team's campaign back on track, as noted by India pace spearhead
Jasprit Bumrah
following the Ireland match.
Stringent Security Measures
Strict security precautions have been implemented by local authorities to guarantee the safe conduct of this high-profile competition, in response to an ISIS terror threat received before the beginning of the tournament.
In recent remarks to the media, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder emphasized the elaborate plans, drawing comparisons to security measures at the presidential level.
"The scale and magnitude of the security for this India-Pakistan match will be more compared to when we hosted the USA President Barack Obama some years ago," Ryder said.
He also spoke to the fact that the extensive security plans for the game included personnel from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, US Customs and Border Protection, and the Nassau County Police in Suffolk County, New York State.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c),
Hardik Pandya
, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
Match starts: 8 pm IST
(With PTI inputs)
English (US) ·