New York

The high-voltage match between India and Pakistan in the ongoing ICCT20 World Cup between America and West Indies will be played in New York on Sunday. Although the match to be played in Nassau County, New York, is not a decisive stage, every match between the two South Asian cricketing giants is a do-or-die situation. The match is crucial for Pakistan which has already lost to the USA.

India looks in a formidable position with Rohit Sharma leading the pack. On the eve of the mega clash, Rohit Sharma said, "When you play Pakistan, it is always challenging. For us, we just need to think about it as another opposition that we want to beat and play well."

Team India enjoys a 6-1 victory record over arch-rivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup and will look to strengthen that on Sunday.

Talking about the excitement of the clash, India star Virat Kohli said the atmosphere is always buzzing inside and outside the stadium to witness the historic match.

Speaking to Television channels, India's star batsman Virat Kohli said, "World Cup is a different emotion, different feeling and you can sense that build up. There is nervousness in the air and everyone is buzzing. I love those moments and we play for such moments. It is very fortunate to experience it."

"The atmosphere outside the stadium, all these things are not quite noticed or spoken about but lead up to the game like this which makes it so special. The moment I stepped on the field, I felt that energy in the stadium. Everyone was waiting for that game to start and you can feel that palpable energy in the air," he added.

India began their campaign with an eight-wicket win over Ireland while Pakistan faced a shocking defeat against co-host USA in their opening Group A fixture.

For the first time, attention is being paid to the pitch before the Indo-Pak match. The discussion usually revolves around the fierce rivalry, competition between players, and India's grip on Pakistan in the World Cup. Batsmen struggle to score runs at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Due to uneven pitch and slow outfield, scoring even 100 runs is looking difficult.

As the build-up for the high-octane clash between India and Pakistan in the T20 World Cup is hitting the pinnacle, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma is eager to see how the Rohit Sharma-led batters will face rivals' lethal pace attack.

Pace-heavy Babar Azam-led side is expected to feature four pacers - Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf - against arch-rivals India on the tricky wicket of Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on Sunday.

The pitch has behaved abruptly in the first two matches of the tournament with awkward bounce and dual pace keeping batters at bay on the drop-in surface.

Keeping the pitch factor in mind, Ishant said it will be interesting to see Indian batters facing Pakistan's pace arsenal.

“The India-Pakistan match is the pinnacle of excitement in cricket. The intense rivalry brings out the best in both teams. I'm eager to see how India tackles Pakistan's formidable bowling attack on this challenging pitch," he said.

The veteran Indian pacer added that a trio of all-rounders Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya will play a key role in the encounter.

"Our strategy will heavily rely on the versatility of all-rounders like Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, and Hardik Pandya. Remember the heart-stopping Super Over in 2007? We might be in for another nail-biter. This match isn't just a game; it's a battle of strategies and nerves, and I'm excited to see it unfold," Ishant said.

The Indian team will enter this match after a win against Ireland. On the other hand, Pakistan had to face a defeat against a new team like America.

Babar Azam's team needs to win this match. For this, the pace attack consisting of Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf will have a big responsibility. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be crucial to deal with them.

On the possible low morale after being trounced by the US team, Pakistan team's captain Babur Azam said, "Such situations are not new for the team.' They have a history of facing unexpected defeats in World Cups. They suffered a similar defeat against Afghanistan in Chennai during the recent ODI World Cup.

The pitch at Nassau County Stadium in New York has been cut to reduce uneven bounce. The tournament organizers said in a statement that the T20 Organizing Committee and the ICC felt that the performance on the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitch was not as consistent as we all wanted.

After the match, the team of world-class groundsmen is working to improve the pitch and is committed to providing the best pitch for the remaining matches. The statement further elaborated that the Nassau County Stadium pitch Batters face unbalanced bounce due to the grass on the pitch being reduced and the rollers running on the pitch.

India holds the advantage over their nemesis with five victories whereas Pakistan has won on only one occasion, the infamous defeat in the 2021 edition where they lost by 10 wickets. The one remaining game was the famous tie between the two sides in the 2007 edition that India went on to win by a bowl-out (3-0).

India vs Pakistan in T20 World Cups:

September 14, 2007: Tied and India won via bowl out in Durban

September 24, 2007: India won by 5 runs in Johannesburg

September 30, 2012: India won by 8 wickets in Colombo

March 21, 2014: India won by 7 wickets in Dhaka

March 19, 2016: India won by 6 wickets in Kolkata

October 24, 2021: Pakistan won by 10 wickets in Dubai

October 23, 2022: India won by 4 wickets Melbourne

Another interesting stat to remember going into the game is that the team batting second has won every game in the T20 World Cup since India’s win over the Men in Green in the 2007 finals.

Highest Scorer for India vs Pak:

Virat Kohli’s 488 runs in 10 T20 Internationals vs the men in green makes him the highest run-scorer in the history of the tournament.

Highest scorers for Pakistan vs Ind:

Mohammed Rizwan’s 197 runs in four innings have seen him become the highest run scorer for Pakistan against India in T20 Internationals

Most wickets:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umar Gul, and Hardik Pandya are the highest wicket-takers in T20I between the two teams with 11 scalps to their name followed by Arshdeep Singh and Mohammad Nawaz with six wickets to their name.

Virat Kohli’s 82-run innings against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2021 remains the highest score by a batsman in a match between the two whereas Mohammad Nawaz’s 4/18 in the 2007 edition remains the best bowling spell by a bowler in the history of this iconic fixture.