The biggest possible game, all the drama that comes with it and surrounds it, and it could all come down to selecting the right playing XI. India vs Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is all set to take centre-stage, with Virat Kohli left with a few key decisions to make.
Chief of them being which bowlers to choose.
Kohli has six world-class/in-form options at the moment, along with an all-rounder in Hardik Pandya.
Only five of them can play, which means there will be two extremely disappointed players sitting in the dressing room, wondering what might have been had they been selected.
The four fast bowlers vying for two or three of spots are Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.
Considering just how good a bowler Bumrah is in coloured clothing, he will definitely play.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been quite brilliant with the white ball of late, and should be named in the playing XI as well.
That leaves Umesh and Shami either being left out, or one of them making it into the team at the expense of one of India's two world-class spinners – R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
The other option would have been to drop Hardik Pandya and go with five pure bowlers, but Kohli, while talking to the media on Saturday, seemed to suggest the all-rounder was going to play.
So, it will either be two spinners and two fast bowlers or three pacers with Ashwin then the most likely slow bowler to sit out.
The opener's slot looks to be sealed by Shikhar Dhawan, after a couple of strong knocks in the warm-ups, with Ajinkya Rahane failing to make a proper case. The rest of the playing XI selects itself, unless there are any more injuries or illnesses.
Yuvraj Singh missed both warm-up matches due to a viral fever, but the left-hander is expected to be fine to play this mother-of-all-game against Pakistan.
India's rivals Pakistan have a decision to make as well, although most of the playing XI looks like being along expected lines.
Pakistan named a 12-member squad for this game against India, leaving out Junaid Khan, who talked a lot in the build-up to this game and is probably lucky he won't have to bowl to Kohli, Haris Sohail and Fakhar Zaman definitely sitting out.
The question for Pakistan will be to go with an extra bowler – the leg-spinner Shadab Khan – or the extra batsman – Faheem Ashraf, who is capable of smashing the ball to all parts of the ground.
Confirmed playing XI:
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (C), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali.
