Pakistan elected to bowl first after captain Salman Agha inspected what he called a “tacky” Bishan Bedi Stadium surface. “Tacky” early pitches, he reasoned, usually quicken up once the evening cool sets in.
India read it differently. They added an extra spinner and, in Suryakumar Yadav’s words, “would have batted first anyway.” The India skipper clearly expects the pitch to slow enough later on to cancel out any possible dew.
The toss again offered no handshake, continuing a quiet practice that began at last year’s Asia Cup. Neither side made an issue of it; players simply got on with their jobs.
Teams and changes
Pakistan kept faith with the XI that beat New Zealand, banking on a balanced attack that now includes the rapidly-talked-about Usman Tariq.
India made two switches. Opener Abhishek Sharma returned after a bout of stomach trouble, replacing Sanju Samson. Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav came in for seamer Arshdeep Singh, giving India three frontline slow options alongside Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel.
Match-ups to watch
The immediate intrigue is India’s power-heavy top order against Tariq, the 24-year-old mystery spinner who bowls with no run-up, varies his release point, and briefly pauses in his action. In just four internationals he has taken 11 wickets at under eight apiece and travels at less than a run a ball – numbers that have forced analysts to hunt for footage from domestic streams.
Suryakumar admitted India have spent extra time planning for him. “We will find a way to tackle Usman Tariq,” he said on match eve. How that unfolds may decide the contest.
Conditions
Agha did hint the surface here is slower than the one at SCC, where both sides played their earlier group fixtures. If his judgment is right, stroke-making could be tougher in the first half, with stroke-play easing under lights. India’s three-spinner plan suggests they think otherwise, or at least feel runs on the board will be worth more than usual.
Probable line-ups
India: Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (capt), Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed.
With bragging rights, two points and perhaps momentum for the rest of the tournament on the line, both sides sounded relaxed rather than riled. As one India assistant coach put it quietly in the tunnel, “It’s Pakistan v India – you do not need extra theatre.”
