The stage is set for one of the most-awaited cricket fixtures as India will face Pakistan in the ongoing Champions Trophy at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday. With both the countries not being involved in bilateral ties for some years now, India-Pakistan meeting in ICC events have become even more special.
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For India and Pakistan, this is their first match in the Champions Trophy, and they will be keen to start well. India might have had a great record against Pakistan in world cups, but the Men in Green have a better record against the Men in Blue in the Champions Trophy. Pakistan have defeated India twice and lost once.
There seems to be a kind of unrest in the Indian dressing room with the ongoing Anil Kumble-Virat Kohli episode, but the Indian captain claims that those things are not true, and is ready for the encounter. When it comes to India-Pakistan clash, players need to have their heads at the right place.
India come into this clash with some good show in their warm-up matches, against New Zealand and Bangladesh. But, the players are aware of the fact, playing Pakistan on such a big stage is a completely different matter altogether.
The ever-so-confident Kohli is not under any pressure whatsoever and feels an India-Pakistan game is like just any other.
"Nothing different, to be honest. I know it sounds pretty boring, but this is exactly what we feel as cricketers. We are not saying anything different to what we feel. And for us, it's a matter of executing what we know best regardless of who we are playing against. And I'm sure every team thinks like that," PTI quoted Kohli as saying.
India have a strong team and one that comprises of some wonderful batsman and bowlers. After a long time, we have seen an Indian team with a world-class attack. It could be a selection headache – who to play? There are four quality seamers in the form of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Coming to the batting, India have always been strong with the likes of Kohli, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit. However, they will need to be cautious against Pakistan's new ball attack, especially Mohammad Amir. The talented pacer has all the ammunitions in his bag to trouble India. Pakistan will also look for an all-round show from Shoaib Malik.
They have some really talented players in the Pakistan squad as well, Babar Azam is one of them. The special batsman has been one of the best players for Pakistan in their batting line-up, and if the batsman stays at the batting crease for longer hours, it could spell trouble for India.
With India, who are one of the favourites for the title, and Pakistan ranked no.8, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed feels it is India under pressure.
"The pressure is on India only. here is no pressure on us. We are standing at No. 8 in the rankings. We cannot fall below this," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Sarfraz as saying.
Irrespective of what one says, the pressure always exists for both teams. It will all boil down to who handles it better – India or Pakistan in this encounter?
When and where to watch live
India vs Pakistan is set to begin at 10.30 pm BST, 3 pm IST. TV and live streaming information is below.
India: TV: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1HD, Star Sports Hindi/HD Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 2. Live Streaming: Sky Go and Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Live Online.
South Africa: TV: SuperSport 2. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
Australia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
New Zealand: TV: Sky Sport 1. Live Streaming: Sky Go NZ.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket. Live Streaming: OSN Play.
