ICC WC 2023: Match 12: India vs Pakistan: Preview & Prediction

The eighth round of the greatest rivalry between India and Pakistan is set to take place in Ahmedabad on October 14. The match which will be played at the gigantic Narendra Modi stadium in front of 1,30,000 people promises to be a mouthwatering one as both the teams are coming into the match after winning their first two games. 

If we talk about favourites India holds a slight advantage given their form in all three departments has been top notch which was on display during the first two matches against Australia and Afghanistan whereas Pakistan is struggling with the lack of form of their bowlers as they have conceded fair amount of runs in the last few matches. 

Moreover, the biggest area of concern for the Babar Azam-led side has been the lack of form of their spinners. Both Nawaz and Shadab haven’t been able to pick up wickets in the middle overs on the other hand Indian middle order has been in good form since the Asia Cup. It looks like the match will be decided by how the Pakistani spinners bowl to the Indian batters in the middle overs. In this article, we will look at all the aspects of the match.

India

The Men in Blue have been enjoying a good run of form since the Asia Cup having won the multination tournament followed by a 2-1 series win against Australia. They have had a good start to their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought win against Australia followed by a dominant win against Afghanistan. The thing that stood out in both matches was the contribution of different players at different points of time with bowling being the constant factor. 

The duo Jadeja and Kuldeep have been picking wickets at regular intervals coming after Bumrah who has been lethal with the new ball. 

The only area of concern for India has been Siraj’s lack of form. The fast bowler looked off-colour against Afghanistan and was the most expensive of the Indian bowlers.

Talking about the Indian batting, Captain Rohit could not have asked for a more complete performance from the batters like they gave in the previous match against Afghanistan led by the captain himself. Shreyas Iyer also got some game time in the middle as he was involved in an unbeaten partnership with Virat Kohli. With Rahul also in form, the batting department looks like a well-oiled machine.

Pakistan

Just like India, Pakistan has won both its opening fixtures and will be eager to put up a good show. However, the team’s record against India hasn’t been the best when it comes to World Cup matches, and that will play at the back of their mind. 

Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in a record run chase on Tuesday and that should have immensely boosted the team’s confidence ahead of this marquee event. 

The team’s concern would be the form of their vice-captain Shadab Khan who has had a forgetful time in ODI cricket in the last one year. 

He has a decent record in T20 cricket and has contributed immensely to his team’s success in the last two editions of the T20 World Cup with both bat and ball but has failed to crack the code in ODI cricket thus far.

Players to watch out for

Batters – Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma, Muhammad Rizwan 

All-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja, and Shadab Khan.

Bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kuldeep Yadav, Haris Rauf. 

Likely playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c) Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam (C), Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Hassan Ali, Haris Rauf

Head-to-head-record

In ODI World Cups, the Men in Blue have a very peculiar record of never losing a game against their arch-rivals leading 7-0 against Pakistan in ODI World Cups

Date and Time

October 14, 2:00 PM

Where to watch on TV?

Star Sports Network

Where to watch online?

Disney+ Hotstar app.

Pitch Report

The pitch is generally good for batting but also offers slow and low turns for spinners across the two innings of the game. The venue has different types of pitches – red soil, black soil, and mixed. The spinners are expected to play a bigger role than fast bowlers.

Dream11 Prediction Picks:

Wicketkeepers: Muhammad Rizwan

Batters: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam

All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Shadab Khan

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi, Hassan Ali

Dream11 Prediction Captain and Vice-Captain:

Choice 1: Virat Kohli (c), Shadab Khan (vc)

Choice 2: Shaheen Afridi (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc) 

Dream11 Prediction Backups:

Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf

TOSS PREDICTION

We predict that the winner of the toss will likely opt to bat first. 

Venue Details

The average score batting first at Ahmedabad is 243. However, this should definitely be a high-scoring contest. The highest total posted at this venue is 365-2 by South Africa against India in 2010. The team batting first will look to set a target of around 280-300 runs at least.

Weather Condition

The weather department has predicted clear skies for the day. The weather will be warm throughout.