Out-of-form Pakistan face rivals India in a must-win match in front of tens of thousands of fans in New York.
Pakistan’s defeat against the tournament debutants and co-hosts was amongst the biggest shocks in the game’s history, but Kirsten believes his players have “moved forward” and are now focused on the challenge ahead.
The challenge, incidentally, cannot get any bigger than a must-win World Cup match against historic rivals India.
“There’s no need for me to motivate the team for this game,” Kirsten told reporters on Saturday.
Rohit’s side has the advantage of having played two games on the pitch, one of which was their tournament opener against Ireland. India completed the tricky chase thanks to Rohit’s half-century, but the captain had to retire hurt after being hit on the arm.
The experienced batter said he will play his innings in “a very balanced way”.
“I don’t want to be too aggressive or too cautious, but someone has to put pressure on the bowlers to try and do something different. Otherwise, it’s a very easy game [for the bowlers].”
The second week of action at the 2024 T20 World Cup kicks off with a stormer of a fixture as tournament favorites India face off against rivals Pakistan on Sunday in New York.
Key Points:
- How will win? India or Pakistan
· India vs Pakistan Head to Head in T20 Internationals
- India vs. Pakistan: When and where?
The Men In Blue looked impressive on Wednesday as they kicked off their campaign with a routine win over Ireland that saw Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant make short work of a target of 97.
With just one win from seven in their previous T20 World Cup encounters with India, Pakistan’s T20 World Cup track record is far from great against their old foes, and their preparations for this key match have been less than perfect. The out-of-form Shaheens crashed to a seismic shock defeat to co-hosts the USA in their opening game, and skipper captain Babar Azam will be demanding a big response from his teammates in a match after that humbling.
How will win? India or Pakistan
Previous head-to-head history of India vs Pakistan
The teams will be meeting in the T20 World Cup for the eighth time across nine editions, with India having conceded defeat only once. Their first encounter was in the group stage of the 2007 T20 World Cup, where the Men in Blue triumphed in a thrilling bowl-out after the match ended in a tie. India went on to edge out Pakistan by five runs to clinch the inaugural title :
| India | vs | Pakistan |
| 7 | Matches | 7 |
| 5 | Won | 1 |
| 1 | Lost | 5 |
| 1 | Tied | 1 |
| 0 | No Result / Abandoned | 0 |
| 160 | Highest Score | 159 |
| 119 | Lowest Score | 118 |
India vs Pakistan Head to Head in T20 Internationals
India holds a major advantage in their overall T20I head-to-head record against Pakistan, boasting 9 wins compared to Pakistan’s 3:
| Team | INDIA | PAKISTAN |
| Matches | 12 | 12 |
| Won | 9 | 3 |
| Lost | 3 | 9 |
| Tied | 0 | 0 |
| No Result / Abandoned | 2 | 2 |
| Highest Score | 192/5 | 182/5 |
| Lowest Score | 133/9 | 83/10 |
India vs. Pakistan: When and where?
India takes on Pakistan at Nassau International Stadium in New York, on Sunday, June 9. Play is set to start at 10:30 a.m. ET, 7:30 a.m. PT. That makes it a 3:30 p.m. BST start in the UK, an 8 p.m. IST start in India, a 7:30 p.m. start in Pakistan. The game meanwhile gets underway at 12:30 a.m. for viewers in Australia early on Monday morning.
