Shubman Gill May Return As India Eye 8-0 Against Pakistan In ODI World Cup

Ahmedabad: The highly anticipated India-Pakistan match of the ongoing 2023 World Cup will take place in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams are coming into the contest after winning their first two matches. India defeated five-time world champions Australia by six-wickets in their first game in Chennai and then Afghanistan by eight wickets in Delhi. Pakistan played both their opening fixtures in Hyderabad – beating the Netherlands in the first game by 81 runs and then Sri Lanka by six wickets in a record Cricket World Cup run chase.

This is the eighth face-off between India and Pakistan in 50-over World Cups and Pakistan have never beaten India in the previous seven meetings.

In this match, India could make a change as first-choice opener Shubman Gill has recovered from dengue fever and resumed training ahead of the marquee clash. Gill attended a gruelling practice session on Friday. He was accompanied by Team India physio Kamlesh and throwdown specialist Nuwan Seneviratne. Besides batting against some net bowlers, he also took throw-downs from Seneviratne. He also looked in fine touch during an extended session at the Motera. He is likely to replace Ishan Kishan at top of the order.

“99 per cent he is available for tomorrow’s game,” captain Rohit Sharma said during the pre-match media conference.

However, former India captain and ace batsman Sunil Gavaskar urged the team management to be cautious while handling the recovery of Gill.

Pakistan, on the other hand, are expected to field the same XI they played Sri Lanka.

INDIA vs PAKISTAN PREDICTED LINEUPS

INDIA: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami/Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah,

PAKISTAN: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

WEATHER

Accuweather is suggesting  just 1% chance of rain with a little bit of cloud cover during the time the game starts.

The India vs Pakistan live toss will take place at 1.30 pm and the match will begin at 2 pm.