In a few hour’s time, Melbourne is going to see a crowd like never before. In one of the largest capacity stadiums in the World, one of Cricket’s greatest rivalry takes off. The rivalry is even more intense at the moment given Pakistan’s victory against India in the last edition of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan are looking really good, with the top-order carrying them while batting, and the bowling attack finding heroes each game. They have Shaheen Shah Afridi back, and the bowling attack has grown a lot in his absence.

Rohit Sharma has his work out cut out. The batting line-up looks ok, but its the bowling which remains a constant concern. Mohammad Shami did show some promise in the warm up game, but there are still a lot more concerns in the death unit, that will take time to solve. For now, there is a decent line-up out there, but India will need to do a lot right to get past this Pakistan unit.

India Pakistan encounters are known to create a lot of energy. While the energy may have gone down in between, Pakistan’s win in the last encounter at a World Cup put the contest right back in the drivers seat. Both teams faced off again in the Asia Cup. Both Asia Cup encounters were nail-biters, with games going down to the wire as India and Pakistan took a win each. One side has a strong batting line-up but is light on the bowling. The other has a very strong bowling attack but looks shaky with the bat. Together, they take each other on at a stadium which holds up to 100000 people. It is a sell-out crowd as tickets were sold out in minutes, highlighting the magnitude of the contest.

IND vs PAK Head to Head

Played- 11 | India – 8 | Pakistan – 3 | No Result- 0 | Tie- 0

IND vs PAK Match Details

Date: 23rd October 2022

Time: 1:30 PM IST

Venue: Melbourne

IND vs PAK Weather Report

The bad news to the game is the weather. The weather is not very promising with high chances of rain.

IND vs PAK Pitch Report

The Melbourne track is one of the flatter ones in Australia. The big boundaries though make running between the wickets a huge factor. While weather may make bowling first a better option, the results are pretty even for sides batting or bowling first.

IND vs PAK Predicted Playing XI

India Playing XI

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Pakistan Playing XI

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Ifthikar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf

IND vs PAK Key Players

Virat Kohli

While Suryakumar Yadav is currently in the form of his life, Virat Kohli will be the one to watch out for. He was the one who got India to a score last time against Pakistan, defying a fiery Shaheen Shah Afridi. In general his record is good against Pakistan, and is even better in Australia. While his abilities may have been forgotten slightly, he remains a huge threat and Pakistan will known the importance of his wicket, and will desperately look to dislodge him.

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Shaheen Shah Afridi takes on India for the first time after that encounter which saw him break India in the first over. He is making a comeback here, but has looked very good in the warm-up games. With the top-order susceptible to left-arm pace, he will be very dangerous up front and can easily set the game up for Pakistan by dislodging the likes of Rohit Sharma early.

See Also: England vs India 2nd ODI Match Prediction – Cricket Winner

IND vs PAK Match Tips

India vs Pakistan encounters can never be predictable. Given the nature of recent fixtures, it is more so unpredictable now. Both teams are doing really good, but results and form may put Pakistan ahead given India’s weaker bowling attack.

Match Prediction: Pakistan Will Win the Match