India vs Pakistan highlights, World Cup 2023: Rohit, Iyer hit fifties as IND beats PAK by seven wickets, moves top of points table

​

ICC World Cup 2023 Points Table after ENG vs SA: South Africa remains third, England slips to ninth; Standings, Net Run Rate

ODI World Cup 2023 Points Table: Here is the latest points table update and team standings of the ongoing 50-over cricket World Cup in India.

Nawaz for his ninth over. Shreyas pushes the ball towards square leg for a single. Shreyas charges down the track and hits it straight for four! Finishes the game and reaches his fifty as well. India wins by seven wickets.

Hasan Ali is back. Fuller ball, Rahul slaps the ball past the bowler for four! Five dot balls in the over.

Nawaz continues. Single on the first ball. Rahul comes down the track, hits the ball hard past the bowler, long-off fielder dives but can’t stop the boundary.

India needs 22 more. Has been pretty quiet since Rohit Sharma got out. India dealing in singles.

Rauf continues. Dot on the first ball. Single on the second ball. Another single, this time by Shreyas. Rahul punches past the covers and gets a double.

Shreyas tries to charge but can’t find the gap past point. Dot ball. Single on the second ball. Rahul takes a single on the fifth ball. Iyer gets beaten on the last ball.

Rauf is back into the attack. And the norm continues. First two balls are dot. Shreys drives past covers and gets a double on the third ball. Another dot. Single on the fifth ball. Jaffa! Rahul is beaten on the drive.

Nawaz. Again, first two balls are dot. Third ball, Iyer almost chips it straight to covers but the ball falls short of the fielder. A single on the fourth ball. Rahul takes a single on the fifth.

Afridi for his sixth over. Two dot balls to start. Only one single in the first five balls. Another dot to end.

Nawaz continues. Two singles in the first three balls. Four singles off the over.

Afridi is back. Rohit takes a single on the first ball. Shreyas drives towards mid-off and takes a quick single. OUT! Rohit Sharma is caught. Slow ball, Rohit doesn’t time it well and gives an easy catch to the fielder at midwicket. He goes for 86 off 63 balls.

KL Rahul at the crease now. Gets off the mark with a single.

Nawaz continues. Shreyas comes down the track and hits it over long on for a SIX! What a way to start the over. Takes a single on the next ball. Full and wide, Rohit slashes hard and gets a four behind point!

Shreyas comes down the track to Shadab, hits it to long-on for a single. Rohit goes for cross batted shot, but gets beaten. He plays it again, this time gets the toe-end of the bat towards midwicket and runs a double. Now he takes out the paddle sweep, hits it past fine leg for four! Full toss and Rohit slogs it over midwicket and sends the ball way into the crowd for a SIX!

Slow and low wicket. Shreyas gets squared up by a Nawaz ball. A single on the fourth ball. Another single, this time by Rohit. A single to end the over.

Shadab continues. Too full and Shreyas smacks it over the bowler’s head for a SIX! Shadab pulls his length back, Shreyas goes for a cut, gets beaten. Single to end the over.

Nawaz. Two dots to start with. Shreyas flicks the ball towards midwicket for a single on the third ball. Rohit plays a dot. Another dot. A single to end the over.

Shadab Khan continues. Shreyas pushes the ball towards long off for a single. Yorker to Rohit! No run. Full and wide, Rohit finds the space just left of the point fielder and gets a four. Two dots to follow. Another dot to end the over.

Rauf to Rohit. SIX! Smashes a bouncer over the fine leg fence. Clips the next to mid wicket for a couple. Two more singles from the over.

Shadab Khan for his first over. Rohit reaches his fifty off 36 balls with a single. Iyer drives to long off for the second run of the over. India gets to 100 runs in the over. Five runs in total from Shadab’s first.

Rauf to Iyer, FOUR! A gift for the batter. On the pads and Iyer places it to the fine leg boundary. A bouncer from Rauf is sent to the deep square leg fielder for a single. Now a pull from Rohit. But is comes off the toe end and yields only one. Iyer works a length ball to deep point for another run. Rohit gets a single on the final ball to keep strike.

Hasan Ali to Iyer. FOUR! A bouncer at 130 clicks is not going to trouble Iyer. Pulls it away past the fine leg man. Three more singles from the over make it a total of seven.

Rauf to Rohit, collects a leg bye to fine leg. Iyer makes a tentative pull at a bouncer on the final delivery. It flies up into the air but lands safe. Just two rurns off the over.

Hasan Ali back. WICKET! Virat Kohli departs! He wants to clear the infield but only manages to find the hands of the mid on fielder.

Kohli c Nawaz b Hasan Ali 16(18)

Shreyas Iyer starts with a dot ball. Just two runs from the over.

​

Rohit Sharma becomes third player to hit 300 sixes in ODIs

Rohit achieved the feat with his third six against Pakistan during an ICC ODI World Cup match against Pakistan in Ahmedabad.

Haris Rauf is in for his first over. Rohit on strike. SIX! Chips it over the long on boundary. That’s his 300th ODI six. A MIX UP! Rohit hits a full toss towards mid on and sets off for a single. Kohli at the non-striker’s end is ball watching. Rohit only realises this after he’s covered 3/4th of the pitch. Kohli, however, puts on his nitro and makes a dive to get home. Direct hit would have been trouble. Virat gets off strike with a tap to mid wicket. SIX! Rohit lofts it over cover.

Mohammad Nawaz into the attack. SIX! Rohit is on the charge. He steps out, gets to the pitch and pummels it away over long on. Clips the final delivery to deep mid wicket for one run. Nine runs from the over.

Shaheen to Rohit. SIX! Rohit at his best! Rising on him from a short length and Rohit hooks it behind square. Picks a single off the third delivery. FOUR! Kohli joins in. Slightly back of a length and Kohli pulls it through mid wicket. FOUR again! This time through the off side with a cover drive. 15 runs from the over.

Hasan Ali to Rohit, drives down the ground first up to take a single. Kohli connects with the next four deliveries but cannot thread the gap. The last one is on the off stump line Kohli defends.

Shaheen continues. Kohli straight drives the first delivery but the mid on fielder allows only a single. Rohit wants to charge down and heave it over the on side. But the ball rushes onto him, takes and edge and goes towards third man. Just one run. A wide next from Shaheen. FOUR! Virat you beauty! Gets on one knee and cover drives an overpitched delivery.

Hasan Ali to Rohit. FOUR! Cut away to the point fence. Another boundary. Slow and on the pads and Rohit does not need a second invitation to latch on to it. Works it on the on side for a boundary.

Shaheen to Rohit. Goes for a heave over mid on, does not middle it and the ball lands just short of the mid on fielder. Rohit clips in the air but there is a fielder in the deep to stop a boundary; one run. WICKET! Gill is caught at point. He sees a wide delivery and lashes at it. It was on its way to the fence like a rocket until Shadab Khan leaped in the air to latch onto it.

Gill c Shadab b Shaheen 16(11)

Virat Kohli drives the first delivery to mid off to start with a dot ball.

Hasan Ali from the other end. Starts with wide-ish delivery and Gill lets it go to the keeper. FOUR! Sumptous! Leans in and drives past mid off. FOUR MORE! This time it is through the covers. Add one more to the count. The last one is sent down leg and Gill works it on it way.

Shaheen Shah Afridi taking his mark. Rohit to take strike. FOUR! Lofted away from his pads. What a start! Digs out a yorker to third man for one run. FOUR! Shubman off the mark in style. Afridi pitches up in search of swing. There is none and the ball flies through covers. A full toss thuds onto Shubman’s pads; one leg bye taken. A dot to end the over.

India needs 192 runs to win the match and maintain its unbeaten record in the World Cup.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill to open the innings. Umpires are out in the middle now. Pakistan team in a huddle.

​

Bumrah becomes joint-highest wicket-taker of ODI World Cup 2023 in match vs Pakistan

Jasprit Bumrah on Saturday became the joint-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing ODI World Cup when he clean bowled Shadab Khan.

Last over for Jadeja. Defends. Attempts a reverse sweep, gets hit on the body, an appeal follows but nothing from the umpire. Comes down the track, gets an inside edge and takes a single. Huge appeal by India for LBW against Haris, but umpire is not interested. India reviews. Three reds and Pakistan is ALL OUT. Another good review by Indians. Pakistan is gone for 191.

Pakistan lost last eight wickets for 36 runs.

Pandya continues. Shaheen defends on frontfoot. Next, takes his frontfoot out, but hits it straight to mid-on. Dot ball. Four balls, four dots. A single on the last ball of the over.

Shaheen Afridi is the new batter.

Jadeja into his ninth over now. OUT! Hasan Ali goes for a wild slog, gets a top edge and gets caught inside the circle. Nine down now. This has been an incredible collapse.

Haris Rauf, the number 11. Defends the first ball. Tries to cut, is beaten, an appeal but nothing from umpire. Hits the ball towards fine leg and takes a double.

Hardik Pandya is into the attack and he’s welcomed with a four. Comes down the track and slaps it straight past the bowler! Three dot balls. Good comeback by Pandya. OUT! Nawaz gets caught at mid-on, trying to hit the ball over him. Eight down Pakistan.

Jadeja is back into the attack. A single on the first ball. Induces an outside edge on the third ball, but the ball goes between the slip and the keeper! It goes for four. Sneaks in a quick single to end the over.

Bumrah continues. Just one on the first four balls. Hasan Ali clearly not well equipped to face a fiery Bumrah. Bowls a wide down the leg. Ball hits the pad, a slight appeal but not much interest there by umpire. A yorker to end the over.

Final over for Kuldeep. A dot ball to start. Hasan takes a single on the second ball towards long off. Nawaz defends. Then he attempts a cut, but the ball spins into him, he gets a top edge but is safe. Single to end the over. 2/35 in 10 overs for Kuldeep.

Bumrah continues. OUT! Another bowled. Shadab Khan is gone! He’s squared up, and the ball kisses the bails on off-stump! Pakistan seven down.

Hasan Ali in the middle now. Defends back to the bowler. Three dot balls. A single on the last ball. Two runs and a wicket in that over.

Kuldeep for his ninth over. Kuldeep is now unplayable suddenly. Just two singles in the first five balls. Another dot to end the over.

Bumrah is introduced. He starts off with two dot balls. A single on the fourth ball. New batter Shadab Khan is off the mark with a single towards covers. OUT!! Rizwan gone as well. What a ball that. Cutter on length, Rizwan plays it too early and the ball goes in between the bat and pad gap and crashes into the off stump. He’s out for 49.

Kuldeep continues. A dot ball to start. Huge appeal for LBW by Indians! Fuller length, Shakeel goes back to defend but gets beaten and hit on the pads. Umpire isn’t interested and Rohit takes DRS. Three reds and Shakeel is gone for six! Great review this by India. Pakistan has suddenly lost two back-to-back wickets.

Iftikhar Ahmed at the crease now. Half-tracker and Iftikhar smacks it towards midwicket for four to get going! OUT! Iftikhar is bowled behind the leg! Tried to sweep an outside leg stump delivery, but the ball ricochets off the glove and gets bowled. He can’t believe it and the Indians are celebrating!

Siraj into his eighth over now. Shakeel hits one past the point fielder and gets a double on the first ball. There’s a gully placed as well. He goes for a cut, gets beaten. Another dot, hits it straight towards point fielder. Full and Shakeel drives. Wants a second but is sent back by Rizwan. Single on the next ball by Rizwan. A single to end the over. Five runs off it.

Kuldeep continues. Just a single in the first four balls. Kuldeep has pulled his length back a bit and Rizwan isn’t able to score off him. Another dot to end the over. One run from it.

Siraj to Rizwan, begins the over with a four towards square leg! Great fielding at the point on the next ball, saves a certain boundary as Rizwan slashes hard. OUT! Babar Azam is gone and he can’t believe it! Length delivery, Babar tries to cut, gets beaten and the ball kisses the off-stump. He goes for 50 off 58 balls.

Saud Shakeel comes in at number five. Sneaks in a single on the first ball and got almost run out at the non-strikers’ end! Was no where near the ball but the Siraj throw was too far from the stumps.

Kuldeep continues. Bowls a dot on the first ball as Babar tries another cut but straight to the fielder. Single on the next ball. Babar-Rizwan happy to knock around and not take any risks. Full toss and Babar hits it past the point fielder for four. He reaches his fifty as well in 57 balls.

Siraj is back into the attack. Babar pushes the first ball for a single towards long on. Babar gets one on the pads and flicks it just past the midwicket fielder who dives, and almost caught it, but the ball went past him. A double to follow it up. Good fielding there in the deep to cut the flick towards square leg. Another fuller length delivery and Rizwan hits it straight past the bowler for four to end the over.

Kuldeep for his fifth over. Rizwan pushes straight for a single. Babar too gets a single on the second ball. Cuts it straight to the extra covers, dot. Another dot. Three dots in a row by Kuldeep. Babar shuffles across, tries to go for a cut, but the ball keeps straight and low, and he gets beaten.

Jadeja continues. Babar pushes the ball towards long-off for a single. Stump-to-stump line, Rizwan defends back to Jadeja. This time, Rizwan sweeps, gets a thick edge which goes over fine leg and the batters run a double. Follows by two dots balls. A single towards long on to end the over. Four runs off it.

Kuldeep to Rizwan. Gets a quick single with a glance to short fine leg. Babar defends the next one turning into him. Kuldeep strikes Babar on the pads but the appeals are denied. India goes for a review. The hawk eye shows ‘Umpire’s call’ on the impact on stumps. Babar survives. Babar clips the final delivery to deep mid wicket for a single.

Jadeja continues. Only three runs from the over - two for Rizwan, one for Babar Azam.

Kuldeep to Babar, gets an outside edge which rolls to backward point. Drives the third to long off. FOUR! Rizwan with an innovative paddle shot through fine leg. Gets off strike on the next.

Jadeja to Babar, drives to long on to run one. FOUR! Rizwan’s cut gets an under edge and goes between the legs of the keeper all the way to the fence. FOUR more! This time he slog sweeps through deep mid wicket.

Kuldeep Yadav back into the attack. Rizwan cuts the first delivery but short third man fields it. He rocks back on the third and clips it to deep square leg. Babar drives the fifth to long off for the second run off the over.

Jadeja to continue. Rizwan drives to long off for one run. Babar plays out five dot balls. Jadeja sticks to the tight, wicket-to-wicket line which makes it difficult to hit the ball square.

Thakur to continue. FOUR! After patiently playing out the first two, Babar slaps hard at the third. Runs to the fence through covers. That is 100 up for Pakistan. Two more singles from the over.

Jadeja to Rizwan, starts with two front foot defences. Drives the third to long off for a single. Babar squares the fourth to deep cover for another run. FOUR! Rizwan cuts to the fence. Kuldeep Yadav does his best to stop that but the ball passes from underneath him.

Shardul Thakur to begin his first over. FOUR! Babar Azam welcomes him with a glorious straight drive. He flicks the next to deep square for one. Rizwan with a single to mid wicket. The final three deliveries are dots.

Jadeja to Babar, a single with a glance to fine leg. Jadeja fires the second delivery on the pads and Rizwan misses the sweep again. The third is driven to long off for one run. Babar with another glance to fine leg to take a single. Rizwan punches off his back foot to long on, one run. Babar drives the final delivery to deep cover for one run.

Hardik Pandya to continue. Rizwan blocks the first delivery of the over. The second in the stumps line and Rizwan defends. The third is tapped to point. Two off cutters from Pandya also end up in dots before Rizwan clips the final delivery to cow corner for FOUR!

Ravindra Jadeja to bowl his first over. Beats the outside of Rizwan on the first delivery. Grips off the surface. Rizwan is given leg before after a missed sweep. But a timely DRS shows that the ball did not turned enough to hit the wickets. Drives the fifth delivery to long off for a single. Just one from the over.

Pandya to Babar, single to start the over. FOUR! Short and wide and Imam cuts hard. WICKET! This one is wide as well and Imam hands an edge to Rahul behind the stumps.

Imam c Rahul b Pandya 36(38)

Muhammad Rizwan in at No. 4. Picks a single with a push to deep cover on the final delivery of the over.

Spin for the first time today as Kuldeep Yadav comes in. Imam off strike on the first delivery with a nudge on the on side. Babar defends the second and drives the third to long off. Imam uses the crease to work the ball on the on side. FOUR to finish. Imam with the faintest touch to send the very fine to thefine leg boundary.

Pakistan gets to fifty after Imam late cuts Pandya for a single. A bouncer for Babar. The batter gets a pull shot but cannot middle it. Another run for Imam with a pull throughmid wicket. FOUR! Another attempted bouncer at Babar. This time he gets it off the middle and sends the ball racing wide of the deep mid-wicket fielder. Back-to-back FOURS! This time through the fine leg region.

Siraj to bowl the final over of PowerPlay 1. After two dots, Imam plays the ball towards mid off and sets off for a single. The pair completes the run with ease in the end. That’s the only run from the over.

Hardik Pandya is the new bowler in attack. Imam late cuts to deep third for one run. Babar Azam starts with a dot ball but sends the second down to third man to get off the mark. One more tap to third man for Imam. FOUR! Pandya sends on down leg and Babar works it to the fine leg boundary.

Siraj bowling to Shafique. Gets one run with a clip to deep square. That’s a fielder brought in just now. Imam with a faint touch to send the ball to third man, one run taken. One more to Shafique. He pulls a bouncer but fails to connect cleanly. Imam with a late cut to deep third for another single. WICKET! Siraj finally gets the breakthrough. Shafique gets caught plumb in front. It was a cross seam delivery and stayed a bit low. Shafique was looking for a clip but is done by the bounce.

Shafique lbw b Siraj 20(24)

Bumrah continues. Shafique defends the first, it was on a length and angling into him. FOUR! Shafique walks down the pitch and chips the ball over mid on. He taps the next on the off side and Imam keenly sprints through for a single. No run. Imam looks to pull a back of a length ball. Gets stuck in the surface and hits him on the body. Bumrah follows that up with a bouncer. FOUR! A rare error in line from Bumrah. Imam gets it down to fine leg to pocket easy runs.

Siraj to Shafique, two runs. Again down leg and Shafique glances it behind square to run a couple. Shafique blocks the second on the fourth stump line. A leg bye on the on side on the third delivery. Imam flicks the fourth to fine leg for another run. Shafique defends the fifth, gets an inside edge to short fine but steals a run before Bumrah fields and throws it back. A dot ball to end the over.

Bumrah to bowl his third. Imam fails to get a run from the over. That’s the first maiden of the innings.

Siraj to Shafique. FOUR RUNS! Width on offer and Shafique cover drives with brilliance. Shafique defends the next two. A soft tap to mid off to pick one run. Imam is surprised by the fourth one keeping a bit low. But the inside edge to square leg allows him a single. JADEJA! Lightening quick in the field as always. Shafique wanted a single but is sent back. He makes it back just in time as Jadeja strikes the stumps with a rocket throw from point.

Bumrah to Shafique. Edge! The second delivery from Bumrah holds its line and Shafique, attempting a defence, gets an outside edge. Thankfully for Pakistam, it goes to first slip on one bounce. He late cuts the third for a single. Imam ends the over with three dot balls on the trot.

Mohammad Siraj to Imam. BOUNDARY. A loose delivery to start from Siraj. On the pads and Imam nudges it to fine leg. Sublime! Imam gets to the pitch of this full delivery and straight drives for FOUR. The third one is pitched slightly shorter and Imam defends. The third boundary of the over. He misses the line again and Imam clips it past square leg. Finally some movement for Siraj, gets it to shape away. The last one is defended as well. 12 runs from the over.

Jasprit Bumrah with the new Kookaburra ball in his hand. Shafique will be on strike. Two slips in place. Dot ball to start. A fraction of swing away, Shafique leans in and defends. The second is slightly fuller and Shafique drives to mid off. The third one moves in and Shafique straight drives. Saved by Bumrah. The fourth is on the pads and Shafique’s flick is stopped by square leg. FOUR TO FINISH! Again on the pads and Shafique dissects the mid wicket and mid on fielders.

Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique walk out to the square. The Indian side also completes the huddle and takes its place on the field amid huge cheers.

We’re moments away from live action after the national anthems of the two reverberate through the stadium.

New Zealand has just updated on Kane Williamson: An X-ray has confirmed an undisplaced fracture to Kane Williamson’s left thumb.

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Pakistan XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

TOSS: India wins toss, opts to bowl

Babar: We also wanted to bowl first. We have had a good two wins, momentum and confidence is high. Jam-packed stadium, we will enjoy it. We want to be good in the field, we had a couple of good practice sessions. Same team for us.

Rohit: We’re gonna bowl first. Cannot get bigger than this, fantastic atmosphere. Sure lot of us are going to experience something really extraordinary today. It’s a good track, not going to change much, dew could be a big factor and keeping that in mind, we want to bowl first. We want to keep striving for the best, we want to come out there and give our best in every game. Gill is back in place of Ishan, unfortunate for Ishan to miss out, feel for him, he stepped up when we needed him. Gill has been a special player for us over the past year or so, especially at this ground and we wanted him back

Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam walk out for the toss.

Shubman Gill is not yet in sight as most of the team India members step out for the warm-ups.

​Team India’s 15 through their coaches eyes​

Kohli walks out for a throwdown session with his blade as the crowd continues to build inside the colosseum.

Huge cheers as Arijit Singh takes the stage.

Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan and Sukhwinder Singh perform amidst a burgeoning crowd. Thousands of fans are still queued up outside awaiting their entries.

Shaheen Afridi marks his run-up as Mohammad Rizwan has a bit of visualisation near the strip.

The pitch is under covers. But here’s Sanjay Manjrekar and Matthew Hayden reckon: Black soil pitch. A lot of rolling has been done, which means lot of runs. It’s going to be a batting track 300+ total.

The pre-match ceremony begins in Ahmedabad. Unfortunately, it will not be telecast or streamed. Stay tuned for more updates.

The sun rose over Ahmedabad with streaks of blue! Just as dawn, with its filtered light and haze, gently spread across the urban sprawl to rework an old cliche, all roads did lead towards the Narendra Modi Stadium. The India jersey, be it the original or fake prints, was in vogue, and a sea of blue with its gentle waves began to lap around the venue. READ

Rohit Sharma and his band of boys have just walked into the stadium for the biggest cricket match of the year.

• Rohit Sharma needs three sixes to become the third batter to hit 300 ODI sixes after Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle.
• Shreyas Iyer could feature in his 50th ODI match.
• Virat Kohli needs 93 runs to complete 26,000 ODI runs.
• Virat Kohli needs two catches to complete 150 ODI catches.

Wicket-Keepers: KL Rahul, Mohammad Rizwan (vc)

Batters: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Abdullah Shafique

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Iftikhar Ahmed

Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Kuldeep Yadav

Team composition: IND 6-5 PAK | Credits left: 10

Played: 30

India: 11

Pakistan: 19

Last Result: India won by 10 runs (Delhi, 2012)

Follow all the updates from the IND vs PAK pre-match ceremony HERE

India captain Rohit Sharma smashed a heap of records during his swashbuckling 131 against Afghanistan in Delhi. Relive all of the Hitman’s records from that night HERE

KL Rahul’s transformation in India’s middle-order has been integral to the team’s stability.

Here is a look at how Rahul has made the no. 5 spot his own.

READ:KL Rahul in the middle order is a different beast: Here is why

The Pakistan team arrived in Ahmedabad a couple of days ago after spending 10 days in Hyderabad. Even now, most of their conversations revolve around the warmth and hospitality they received there. The team visited several eateries and even enjoyed the delicious Hyderabadi Biryani.

However, the Pakistan players have remained confined to their hotel rooms in Ahmedabad due to security concerns and time constraints. But they have still managed to savour some local cuisine, with fafda and jalebi as the favourites. “Yes, we tried some Gujarati food, but in the hotel... We are not going outside right now,” said captain Babar Azam.

The team received a traditional welcome with garba and local music. However, their hotel, located on Ashram Road in the heart of the city, has been turned into a fortress.

When Babar’s men play India at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday, no Pakistani fans will be present due to visa issues. Only seven to eight journalists from across the border are expected to be in attendance. However, Babar hopes that, like in Hyderabad, his team will receive some support at the stadium.

“We got support in Hyderabad and are hopeful that the crowd will back us in Ahmedabad as well. However, it would have been better for us if Pakistan fans were allowed to travel to India,” he said. READ MORE

When India squares off against Pakistan in a marquee World Cup fixture at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the surface is expected to be batting-friendly. But with a fresh black soil track on offer, the seamers may enjoy some extra bounce early on.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam indicated that the toss will play a crucial role while former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan said that adapting to the conditions quickly will be the key for the fast bowlers.

In the opening game at the same venue, England scored 282 for 9, but New Zealand it chased down in 36.2 overs.

“In a high-pressure game like this, when the pitch has a lot of runs in it - which Ahmedabad pitch generally has - as a bowler, you need to understand that adjustment is the key,” Pathan told Sportstar. ​READ MORE​

Rohit Sharma strode in and tried his best to tone down the external noise around Saturday’s World Cup fixture involving India and Pakistan.

In the pre-match press conference at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday, the Indian skipper insisted that his men would treat this game in a manner similar to how they dealt with their previous encounters.

“Yes, it’s a massive game. We are playing an opposition which has quality. We just have to play good cricket, which we have done in the last two games. Hopefully, we can again show some consistency in our performance,” Rohit said.

When asked about the possibility of fielding three spinners, Rohit said, “I haven’t looked at the pitch yet, but we are ready for whatever combination we want to play. If there is a change or two we need to make, we will be ready with that. If the requirement is there for us to play three spinners, we will play three spinners.” - KC Vijaya Kumar

India’s batting great Gundappa Viswanath believes the home team should start afresh instead of dwelling on its envious 7-0 record against Pakistan in ODI World Cups.

“It’s a new tournament, and the Indian team looks solid in every aspect. Those (7-0) records are history now,” Viswanath told Sportstar on Friday.

Viswanath, now a World Cup expert with Star Sports Kannada, thinks that India’s overall team composition provides Rohit Sharma’s men with an advantage over their rivals. READ MORE

Shubman Gill had an hour-long batting session on Thursday morning, even though his participation in India’s highly anticipated World Cup fixture against Pakistan on October 14 in Ahmedabad remains uncertain.

Gill, recovering from dengue, reached Narendra Modi Stadium around 11.30 a.m.

While it was a closed-door training session overseen by the BCCI’s medical team, Gill engaged in some preliminary stretching before hitting the nets. Nevertheless, sources suggest that the team management is inclined to exercise patience regarding Gill’s readiness for Saturday’s high-profile match. ​READ MORE​

A rivalry high on sporting magic and marinated in sub-continental history and angst on either side of the Radcliffe Line gets its latest instalment.

India against Pakistan is cricket’s emotional roller-coaster and since these matches are now restricted to ICC championships and the Asia Cup, the larger absence of these rousing contests surely makes the heart go fonder.

The Narendra Modi Stadium, earlier referred to as the Motera, is a gargantuan venue which matches the stratospheric hype that Saturday’s World Cup fixture has already generated. On Friday, roads leading to this massive edifice were clogged as expectant fans and alert security personnel milled around while the harsh sun was the kind that marketed protective skin creams.

The blue jersey was flying off the pavements while patriotic slogans and the odd tribute to Virat Kohli provided the interlude. ​READ MORE​

INDIA: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur.

PAKISTAN: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Agha Salman, Fakhar Zaman, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim Jr.

Which TV channel will broadcast IND vs PAK World Cup match Live?

The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan will be telecast LIVE on the Star Sports networkfrom 2:00 PM IST onwards.

Where to watch Live streaming of IND vs PAK World Cup match?

The ICC World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan will be streamed LIVE on the Disney+Hotstar app and website.