DHAKA: No more than an hour after the last of the qualifying matches conclude in Sylhet on Friday (March 21) evening, the Super 10s will get underway at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium with the act of the India v Pakistan rivalry.
The match will start at 7:30pm local time.
The India-Pakistan rivalry is not necessarily the oldest in cricketing history, but there is no rivalry more intense than the showdowns between the Asian giants.
It’s a face-off that dates back to 1952-53, the teams having played 190 international matches – 59 Tests, 126 One-Day Internationals and 5 Twenty20 Internationals – during that period.
It is impossible not to be sucked into the emotion that surrounds this particular contest.
Shahid Afridi’s tournament-ending sixes off R Ashwin will still be fresh in the memory of the fans as well as the players from both sides when Mohammad Hafeez and Mahendra Singh Dhoni stride out for the toss at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Friday night.
India skipper MS Dhoni said, “The intensity is there, of course, it is something you cannot take away from the game, irrespective of which opposition you are playing. India-Pakistan matches always capture the imagination of people from either side.”
India and Pakistan are both former winners of the World T20, but the similarity ends there.
Since its unexpected triumph in 2007, India hasn’t so much as threatened to make it to the knockout semifinals; Pakistan, champions in 2009, has made at least the semifinal of each of the four preceding World T20s, its consistency and increased familiarity with the format giving it the slightest of edges.
On the other hand, India have an overwhelming 8-0 record against Pakistan in the World Cup.
India Squad:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny, Ajinkya Rahane.
Pakistan Squad:
Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Saaed Ajmal, Mohammad Talha, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Zulfiqar Babar, Bilawal Bhatti.
BDST: 0853 HRS, MAR 21, 2014
