It’s time for one of the biggest, if not the biggest, competitions in world cricket as India faces Pakistan in the T20 World Cup Super 12 game in Dubai on Sunday. There is a lot of buzz around the competition and reports are coming that there is a mad rush for tickets in Dubai.
India and Pakistan no longer meet in bilateral cricket and their clashes at ICC tournaments are causing quite a stir. It’s no surprise that it is estimated that more than a billion people from around the world will tune in to the highly anticipated competition in Dubai.
It will be a big event for the two captains. Virat Kohli, who was a seasoned leader, will lead India in a T20 World Championship for the first time. Team India’s mentor MS Dhoni led the team to the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Championship. On the flip side, Babar Azam, who has become Pakistan’s captain in all formats, will also make his debut as a captain at a T20 World Cup.
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In the spotlight is Virat Kohli as the skipper has announced that he will be giving up the T20I captaincy after the World Cup. The acclaimed Indian batsman will seek to end his reign as captain of the T20I in full swing and a win against Pakistan in the tournament opener will give him and his team a big boost to face the challenges ahead.
India in particular has never lost a World Cup game to arch rivals Pakistan and skipper Kohli will be under pressure to keep that streak. It is noteworthy that India under Kohli was beaten by Pakistan in London in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017.
Nonetheless, recent history favors Virat Kohli as the Indian captain was successful in the shortest format of the game against Pakistan. Kohli is the top scorer in India-Pakistan competitions. Kohli loves playing against Pakistan as he has 254 runs in 6 games at a staggering average of over 84 runs per innings.
Interestingly, Kohli has yet to be fired from Pakistan in a T20 World Cup game. Since 2012, Kohli has played 3 games against Pakistan at T20 World Cups and scored 169 runs, including two 50s.
T20 World Cup 2012: 78 not in Colombo
India followed 129 runs against Pakistan in their group match in Colombo at the 2012 T20 World Cup after an overall bowling performance by India, stage by L Balaji.
India’s race to catch up got off to a bad start when they lost Gautam Gambhir with a 0, but Virat Kohli hit 78 and smashed 2 sixes and 8 boundaries. He made it with just 61 balls as India raced to the goal in just 17 overs.
T20 World Cup 2014: 36 not in Dhaka
In their 2014 World Cup meeting, India had to chase the 131 and got off to a good start on a sluggish field from Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. However, India suffered a slight wobble and lost 3 wickets in quick succession.
However, Kohli and Suresh Raina sewed an unbeaten score of 66 runs to get India to the finish line in just 18.3 overs. Kohli missed a 6 and 4 limit for his 32-ball36.
T20 World Cup 2016: 55 not in Calcutta
In 2016 India had a difficult target of 119 to hunt on a two-tier pitch in Calcutta. Kohli missed the innings with a glorious 37-ball 55 and hit a sixes and sevens line.
Kohli looked very good on a field where most of the others struggled to get going.
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