IND, PAK renew cricket’s biggest rivalry on the grandest stage

• India vs Pakistan Live Score, Cricket World Cup 2023: Catch the latest updates and full scorecard of the IND vs PAK clash from Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

India vs Pakistan Live Score World Cup 2023: Here we are! The day you’ve all been waiting for. The day when the entire nation promises to come to a standstill. The day you will probably remember to tell your kids and grandkids about. The day you had your eyes on ever since the CWC schedule was announced. The ultimate showdown for which hotel tariffs and flight tickets have soared through the roof. For which people are booking hospital beds. The grand spectacle – INDIA VS PAKISTAN at the WORLD CUP! Nothing… and we mean nothing comes even close. India vs Pakistan Live Score, World Cup: It doesn’t get bigger than IND vs PAK.(AP)Talk about the Ashes, talk about the Superbowl, WrestleMania… all of it dwarfs in comparison to the mother of all battles. Four years after they last squared off in a 50-over World Cup, the stage is set for India and Pakistan to renew their cricket rivalry on cricket’s biggest extravaganza. Potentially in front of 130,000 fans at the world’s largest cricket venue, Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Goosebumps and chills are guaranteed throughout the day, starting from the National Anthem to the final delivery bowled.

Add to that the glamour quotient that has been added. In cricket, nothing is bigger than the game, unless it’s India vs Pakistan. We saw that in the Asia Cup last month, where a reserved day was installed just for this clash, and now the World Cup – which did not have an opening ceremony but will have the razzmatazz of Bollywood with artists such as Shankar Mahadevan, Arijit Singh and more gracing the granddaddy of them all.

Now on to some history. Although the India-Pakistan World Cup rivalry is lettered with memorable moments – Ajay Jadeja’s hammering of Waqar Younis at the 1996 quarterfinal, Javed Miandad losing it at Kiran More’s constant chirping, Sachin Tendulkar playing arguably the greatest ODI innings of his life and India prevailing over Pakistan in a thriller in the 2011 semifinal – there is one trivia that beats it all, 7-0. India are undefeated against Pakistan in the World Cup since 1992. Every time a World Cup arises, the question is: Can Pakistan end India’s unbeaten streak? But the result hasn’t changed in 31 long years. This gave birth to possibly the most successful ‘Mauka-Mauka’ ad campaign, but the winning run has continued through Sydney, Bengaluru, Manchester, Centurion, Mohali, and Adelaide. Two years ago, Babar Azam broke it in T20Is and has his eyes set on an encore.

And as we build toward today’s blockbuster, there are so many individual battles to watch out for. Shaheen Afridi vs Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah vs Babar Azam, Kuldeep Yadav to Mohammad Rizwan… the list is endless. The contest also promises to fuel the Kohli vs Babar debate once again. There has been only one winner in this battle in India-Pakistan ties thus far – Kohli has scored 523 runs from 9 innings, in comparison to Babar’s 204 from eight. A huge gulf. But if there is ever a time to turn things around, it’s today. Despite all the accolades he has earned in world cricket, of being the fastest to 5000 runs and one of the longest reigning No. 1-ranked batters of all time and all that, Babar hasn’t quite been able to crack the code against India. He averages a lowly 28 against India in 7 ODIs. His only fifty came during the T20 World Cup two years ago in which Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets. Kohli, meanwhile, has 662 runs from 15 ODI innings at an average of 55.16 and loves feasting on the Pakistan batters.

Up until last month, India and Pakistan appeared on an even keel, but Naseem Shah’s injury and his subsequently getting ruled out of the World Cup has changed things around dramatically. Suddenly, Pakistan’s new-ball attack lacks a bit of teeth. Of course, Haris Rauf is excellent, and Hasan Ali has the experience, but they’re both first or second-change bowlers. But what this does is that it puts extra responsibility on the shoulders of Shaheen Afridi, one of the world’s best opening, new-ball bowlers going around today. Either this will bring the best out of him, or push him back like the first two games, giving away 103 runs while picking just two wickets. Having said that, bowling against India promises to be a huge motivation for Shaheen, and he reflected that confidence on the eve of the match when he, in a way, promised a selfie to a fan only after completing a five-wicket-haul.

Oh, we’re excited about this one! The most anticipated match of this World Cup is here, and it’s sure to bring the house down.