One Year Later, Is Team India Ready To Exact Sweet Revenge Against Pakistan?

The T20 World Cup is back and Indian fans have been longing for this day for a very long time now but can their team avenge last year’s huge defeat against Pakistan, which is the main question.

Fasten your seatbelts for India and Pakistan, the two bitter rivals, will face off in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 opener on Sunday, October 23, 2022. Both of these sides, who were drawn into Group 2, will be eager to begin their World Cup campaigns on a victorious note. This exciting encounter will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is set to be crowded with 1.25 lakh fans rooting for their sides. Both sides have one win against their mighty opposition this year, but this game is of utmost importance as both teams are considered favorites to lift the coveted trophy for a second time this year. 

Tickets for this high octane clash between the two sides were sold out within minutes of it going online

India is always favorites going into any World Cup and have their own strengths and weaknesses. They have changed their approach since that humiliating world cup exit a year back in the UAE. Without the dramatic intricacies between the two nations, both on and off the field, Pakistan’s speed assault versus India’s brand-new strategy in this format makes this a difficult matchup by itself. India had never lost against Pakistan in a World Cup game when these sides last faced off at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. That all changed dramatically in Dubai as Pakistan coasted to a 10-wicket victory. India received a boost after a second victory in the Super Four match of the Asia Cup, and as a major match awaits in Melbourne, all eyes are on how India can handle Pakistan’s pace batteries, which recently helped them win the T20I tri-series in New Zealand. The Pakistani opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who are amassing runs for fun despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, will put their bowling to the test. Although Shami’s return from injury bodes well for the squad, the pacer has little match experience and a less than stellar track record in the game’s shortest format. With Bumrah’s towering absence creating a big vacuum in the assault, death bowling is still a problem for India. But India has reason for optimism going into the competition because of Arshdeep’s encouraging results since his debut. Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar both increase the death bowling options, but it’s unclear how many quicks India will be able to fit in their starting lineup, especially given that some of them don’t improve the depth of the batting order.

India’s pace attack will have to be at their absolute best if they have to stop Rizwan and Babar 

Indian Squad For T20 World Cup : Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (WK) , Rishabh Pant (WK), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh

Predicted Playing XI vs Pakistan : Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal

This was the original Indian squad for the tournament but Shami has now made it to the squad at the expense of Bumrah

In the Australian conditions, Babar Azam and company will begin the T20 World Cup as one of the favorites. Pakistan has the tools necessary to take advantage of the pace and bounce provided by the Australian conditions thanks to a formidable pace arsenal. Pakistan has succeeded in reestablishing themselves as the best team in cricket, as seen by their performance in the T20 World Cup last year. In an exciting match against Australia, they fell in the semifinals. However, in the UAE, athletes like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan lit the stage on fire. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are perhaps one of the strongest opening pairings in T20 cricket right now, but the middle order is where they suffer. They have one of the worst middle orders compared to their opening duo, which was revealed in the Asia Cup 2022 and the subsequent T20I series against England. Shaheen Afridi’s comeback will undoubtedly help Pakistan’s pace attack in the meantime. Shaheen is one of the finest in the industry at the moment and all eyes will be on him when he returns to professional cricket on October 23 against India after recuperating from a knee ailment.

The Pakistan bowling attack looks lethal with the return of Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pakistan Squad For T20 World Cup :  Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain

Predicted Playing XI vs India : Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Fakhar Zaman was added to the main squad last week who was earlier a travelling reserve

The anticipation for the T20 World Cup 2022 and the main game between Pakistan and India is growing daily. Australia will host the seventh iteration of the ICC competition from October 16 to November 13. With less than a month till the tournament begins, many fans and experts have begun to choose their favorites, Pakistan and India are unquestionably two of the front-runners. India remains a viable championship challenger with a dream batting lineup and some appealing bowling options, despite injuries having a huge impact on their tournament preparation. Can they replicate their 2007 triumphs and begin this campaign with a victory against their fiercest competitor?