Article Posted on 17 October, 2023

Pakistan and India will be locking horns tomorrow in Ahmedabad Stadium, where over 100,000 plus fans will be witnessing the action.

Two-time world champions India have a perfect 7-0 record against Pakistan in 50-overs World Cup, and will be aiming to add another one to their tally, whereas Pakistan have a chance to break the jinx.

There are several key match-ups to look forward to in tomorrow’s clash between the two archrivals.

All eyes will be on India’s chase master Virat Kohli and how he fares against Pakistan’s bowling attack. Statistics suggest he has been at his best while playing against Pakistan.

Kohli’s most recent heroics against Pakistan came in the recent Asia Cup where he smashed 122 off 94 balls. Kohli had also driven the run-chase alongside Hardik Pandya in last year’s T20 World Cup and then took Pakistan’s premier quick Haris Rauf to the cleaners in the penultimate over of the match by hitting two unbelievable shots off his bowling.

The first was a length ball which Kohli dispatched straight down the ground and he flicked the next to over fine-leg en route to victory.

Kohli later said the sixes were "instinctive", but it began a great battle with the Pakistan quick which awaits another showdown in Ahmedabad.

The next encounter that everyone will be looking forward to is the Kuldeep-Babar face-off. It remains to be seen how Babar and the rest of Pakistan’s middle-order squares off against Kuldeep Yadav in front of a packed stadium of 100,000 plus people.

So far, Kuldeep has had the better of Babar in their limited overs face-offs where he has only given away 18 runs to him out of 34 deliveries, while also dismissing him twice in the process.

Lately, there has been a lot of noise around Indian openers struggling against left-arm Pakistani pacers which is why there will be a lot of eyes on how Rohit Sharma fares against Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The challenge for Sharma has been against the ball which swings back in and technically the Indian captain has the tendency to fall across his stumps and get hit on the pads. Sharma has scored 37 runs off 48 balls against Shaheen in ODIs and T20Is but has also been dismissed twice in the process.