What to expect from the India Pak T20 clash on Oct 24

India have dominated Pakistan in World Cups since the inception of the game.

The Men in Green have bossed India in bilateral series, but not so much in the ICC events.

India and Pakistan will clash again on October 24 at the Dubai International Stadium.

It will be the 16th match of the tournament.

Having played the second leg of the Indian Premier League 2021 in the UAE, India are relatively more familiar with the Dubai track.

On the other hand, Pakistan had their key, white-ball series abandoned before they left for the UAE.

They were scheduled to play New Zealand and England at home to prepare for the mega event, but both visitors turned it down at the eleventh hour.

Hence, the players selected for the World Cup had to find their groove in the National T20 Cup instead of an international series against top guns.

Indian Players to watch out

KL Rahul

Rahul is coming off a dream IPL season.

He averaged 62.60, the most in the league.

His opening partnership with Rohit Sharma will be deadly, especially in Dubai where he is well aware of the playing conditions.

Hardik Pandya

Pandya will be well-rested before India take on Pakistan.

He has been in and out of the IPL games so that Virat Kohli and fully use his all-round abilities when it matters the most.

His cameos in the middle and death overs are always crucial for the Men in Blue.

With spinners bowling the middle overs, Pandya can prove to be lethal against Pakistan.

Jasprit Bumrah

The death-over specialist is known for keeping the batters in check in the shortest format of the game.

Bumrah has been a regular member of the Indian team in the T20s ever since he debuted.

Pakistan openers will have to keep an eye on his late swing in the opening overs or else the right-arm pacer can swarm through the batting line-up in no time.

Pakistan players to look out for

Babar Azam

The Pakistan skipper has been in red-hot form throughout the year.

He has been opening the batting for the country and already has a century to his name.

His maiden ton against South Africa where he led the historic chase from the front with Muhammad Rizwan showed why he is the right man to lead the Men in Green.

He doesn’t have a reputation for spanking bowlers for a lot of sixes, but he can make the opposition pay with his swift drives and ability to find the gaps out of nowhere.

Perhaps, a mystery spinner like Varun Chakravarthy can be used against him.

Muhammad Rizwan

Rizwan has been the highest run-getter in T20I this year.

Not only has the wicket-keeper replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed in the team, but he has also been inch-perfect with the bat and behind the wicket as well.

India will need to get rid of Rizwan as early as they can since the right-hander has a knack for going big in the early overs.

Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Shah Afridi is the leader of the Pakistan pace cartel.

He will be a seamer to look out for India. Afridi could play an Amir-like role for Pakistan in the powerplay.

Rohit Sharma has shown that he can struggle against left-arm seamers and that is where Afridi will make hay of the new ball.

The 21-year-old was phenomenal in the Pakistan Super League 2021.