The Indian team notched up a respectable 151/7 against arch-rivals Pakistan in their T20 World Cup Super 12 match on Sunday, after a shaky start where Shaheen Afridi removed both the openers cheaply.  

Shaheen Afridi made a fiery start in the clash, dismissing openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to draw first blood as Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bowl.

Rishabh Pant’s cameo and Virat Kohli’s fifty helped India reach 151 in 20 overs.

Speaking on his decision, Azam said, “We are going to bowl first. We’ll look to take early wickets and put pressure, dew is also a factor.”

The 27-year-old batsman also said he was confident about his team’s preparations for the high-stakes game. “We have had good practice sessions and am confident about our preparations. Pakistan’s bowlers are known to trouble other teams but I am confident about our batting too.”

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There was much speculation over what the playing XI will look like for India, with particluar focus on whether an out-of-form Pandya, who is also not bowling at the moment since a back injury, will be selected. 

However, skipper Virat Kohli, among others, had backed the Mumbai Indians all-rounder prior to the match and kept faith in the 28-year-old with a chance to show his worth against Pakistan. 

Meanwhile, skipper Virat Kohli said the toss was something one can’t control and they were happy to be setting the target as well. 

“We are pretty balanced with our squad and you need to be prepared for it. We need to stay as professional as possible. We need to stay focussed on the processes.” 

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The four players excluded from the lineup are Rahul Chahar, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (w), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.

This is the sixth time India are facing Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, having won all five previous encounters. The historic rivalry is one that defines T20 World Cup history. 

India faced Pakistan twice in the inaugural edition in 2007, including the final, where Mahendra Singh Dhoni‘s men won by five runs to end a 24-year wait for a World Cup trophy. 

Overall India and Pakistan have faced off 12 times in World Cups, with India winning on all occassions.