The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will see India crossing swords with Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Here’s a look at some key statistics ahead of the marquee battle:
- This will be the seventh meeting between these two sides in the mega event with India leading the head-to-head record 5-1.
- India, no 1 in men’s T20Is, are coming off back-to-back home series victories against Australia and South Africa and will be looking to build on their recent purple patch.
- Pakistan, No 3 in men’s T20Is, enter this game in high spirits having won the tri-nation series against Bangladesh and New Zealand earlier this month. But they had a reversal at home against England in a 7-match series they lost 3-4.
India vs Pakistan in men's T20Is
| Result | Margin | Toss | Bat | Ground | Date | World Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tied (India won bowl out) | - | PAK | 1st | Durban | 14 Sep 2007 | Y |
| IND win | 5 runs | IND | 1st | Johannesburg | 24 Sep 2007 | Y |
| IND win | 8 wickets | PAK | 2nd | Colombo (RPS) | 30 Sep 2012 | Y |
| PAK win | 5 wickets | PAK | 1st | Bengaluru | 25 Dec 2012 | |
| IND win | 11 runs | PAK | 1st | Ahmedabad | 28 Dec 2012 | |
| IND win | 7 wickets | IND | 2nd | Mirpur | 21 Mar 2014 | Y |
| IND win | 5 wickets | IND | 2nd | Mirpur | 27 Feb 2016 | |
| IND win | 6 wickets | IND | 2nd | Kolkata | 19 Mar 2016 | Y |
| PAK win | 10 wickets | PAK | 1st | Dubai (DSC) | 24 Oct 2021 | Y |
| IND win | 5 wickets | IND | 2nd | Dubai (DSC) | 28 Aug 2022 | |
| PAK win | 5 wickets | PAK | 1st | Dubai (DSC) | 4 Sep 2022 |
- Since the completion of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, India have the second-best scoring rate (RR: 11.1) among top ten teams in overs 16-20. Meanwhile, Pakistan bowlers have maintained the second-best economy rate (ER: 9.2) during this period. The battle between Pakistan’s pacers and India’s death-hitters could be an all-important one in the context of this match.
- Suryakumar Yadav has been one of the most explosive batters in the men’s T20 Internationals circuit since the start of this year (Runs: 801, SR: 184.6, BPB: 3.7). Yadav has been extremely destructive at the death where he hits a boundary every 2.3 balls at a strike-rate of 258.1. His battle with Pakistan’s pace bowlers Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi could be the one to watch out for.
- Mohammad Rizwan has been the leading run-scorer across men’s T20Is since the start of 2021, averaging an astounding 65.1 per game while striking at 131.5. Rizwan has been part of all 30 of Pakistan’s victories during this period and has played a significant role in those matches (Avg: 83.8, SR: 136.2). He will be looking to repeat his feat from the last time these two teams met in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 where he scored an unbeaten 79 (55) in a 10-wicket victory.
- Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the leading wicket-takers for India since the conclusion of the last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (22 wickets). In this period, Chahal has a good record in the middle phases where he has taken 20 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.9 while striking in every 15.3 balls. He could be the key for India in countering the likes of Haider Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed if he gets the nod.
- Shaheen Afridi has been a go-to bowler in the format for Pakistan and took a match-winning 3/31 when Pakistan beat India in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Shaheen can be a major threat to India’s top-order in powerplay where he has taken 16 wickets at an economy rate of 6.6.
- Shaheen Afridi needs to take three more wickets to complete 50 wickets in his T20 International career.
- KL Rahul needs to hit nine more sixes to become only the third Indian batter to complete 100 sixes in men’s T20 Internationals.
- Hardik Pandya needs 11 runs to reach 1000 runs in T20 Internationals.
With inputs from ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020 via SPORTRADAR and ESPNCricinfo Statsguru.
