The cricket world cup is the biggest event of the sport and the ICC World Cup 2019 edition has provided some excellent action on the field (when the rain has allowed it to). After a few exciting and rain-truncated games in the 2019 World Cup, it’s time for the marquee clash between India and Pakistan on June 16 at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. The contest will be live from 3:00 pm IST.
India has been unbeaten in the tournament so far with 2 wins against South Africa and Australia and one rain-curtailed match against New Zealand. The Men in Blue have an unbeaten record against their opponent, having won all their six encounters. Team India will be looking to continue both the winning records. Shikhar Dhawan fractured his finger during the match against Australia and is going to be unavailable for this match. India has so far played Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav backed up by Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav. They might consider playing Mohammad Shami in place of Kuldeep Yadav if the conditions remain overcast.
Player To Watch Out For – Virat Kohli
One win from four matches has left Pakistan in a tough spot. They lost their match against the West Indies, Australia and their match against Sri Lanka was rained out as well. They must win at least four out of their remaining five matches in the ICC World Cup 2019 if they want to be sure of qualifying for the Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-finals. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s men are languishing in the eighth position of the table. Pakistan also hasn’t had the best of times against their arch-rivals in recent times. Last year, amidst all the hype and excitement, India turned over the Men in Green in a couple of drab affairs in the Asia Cup in the UAE.
Player To Watch Out For – Mohammad Hafeez
Pitch Report
Out of 45 ODIs at the Old Trafford in Manchester, only 18 went in favor of the team batting first. The track has been a tad inconsistent. Nevertheless, teams should opt to field first after winning the toss, bearing in mind the adverse weather conditions.
Probable Line Ups
India – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Dinesh Karthik/Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan – Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C & WK), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir.
PlayerzPot XI
PlayerzPot Prediction
India will be favourites for the match as India has won four out of the last five matches it has played against Pakistan including two in the Asia Cup.
