Top five key battles to watch out for in IND vs PAK match No. 19 in ICC T20 World Cup 2024

The 19th match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, IND vs PAK, will be played in New York on Sunday.

The most-awaited clash of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 between India and Pakistan will be played on June 9, Sunday in New York. The blockbuster IND vs PAK encounter of Group A will take place at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

Both teams have had opposite kinds of starts to their respective campaigns. India thumped Ireland by 8 wickets, while Pakistan lost to the USA after the match went into Super Over.

IND vs PAK: Head-to-head

India and Pakistan have so far met in 12 T20Is, out of which nine were won by India, including the bowl-out in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Pakistan have defeated India thrice in T20Is.

IND vs PAK: Top five player battles to watch out for

1. Rohit Sharma vs Shaheen Afridi

India captain Rohit Sharma will be up against left-arm speedster Shaheen Afridi. Shaheen is one of the deadliest new-ball bowlers in the world because he has pace, height and can swing the new ball.

Rohit is already infamous for being weak against left-arm pacers in the initial overs of the match. Shaheen dismissed Rohit via an lbw in their meeting in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. During their Asia Cup encounter last year, Afridi knocked over Rohit’s stumps in Kandy.

2. Virat Kohli vs Mohammad Amir

Pakistan’s most memorable victory over India in the past decade was the Champions Trophy 2017 final at the Lord’s. It was Mohammad Amir who ran through India’s top three, including Virat Kohli.

After retiring from international cricket, Amir made a U-turn to feature in this tournament. He was Pakistan’s best bowler in their loss against the USA. Kohli, on the other hand, suffered a failure against Ireland, managing only one run. Their battle would be exciting.

In T20Is, Kohli has scored 16 runs in 19 balls against Amir without losing his wicket even once.

3. Arshdeep Singh vs Babar Azam

Arshdeep has managed to get some hold on Babar early on in the few deliveries he’s bowled to the Pakistani captain in T20Is. In their three meetings, Arshdeep has conceded six runs from the seven balls he’s bowled to Babar while dismissing the right-hander once – in the T20 World Cup 2022 match at the MCG.

Arshdeep gave India a superb start against Ireland with two wickets in an over, using the juice in the New York pitch. Babar, on the other hand, struggled to get going during his knock of 44 (43) against the USA.

4. Jasprit Bumrah vs Iftikhar Ahmed

Iftikhar is one of the in-form batters in the Pakistan team and their designated finisher, who batted at number 7 against the USA.

Iftikhar and Bumrah are likely to encounter each other during the second half of Pakistan’s innings. Bumrah is considered the best white-ball bowler in the world right now, while Iftikhar has the power to hit any bowler for sixes. The result of their potential battle could have a huge impact on the result of the match.

5. Shivam Dube vs Shadab Khan

India picked Shivam Dube in their T20 World Cup squad over Rinku Singh and dropped Yashasvi Jaiswal to accommodate him in the XI. That’s because India see him as someone who can bash spin bowlers in the middle overs just like he did for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the last two seasons.

Dube has been simply sensational against spinners in recent times. Even though Pakistan have four pacers, the match-up Dube would target will be leg-spinner Shadab Khan.

Since 2022, Dube has had a strike rate of 179 and an average of 60 against leg spin in the IPL. Dube against Shadab and Iftikhar could be a mouth-watering battle in the IND vs PAK encounter.

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