Sub-continental giants India and Pakistan meet in a crunch match in the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Saturday, renewing cricket's biggest rivalry in cricket after a year.
Showdowns between the neighbours, who last played in the 50-over World Cup in Australia-New Zealand in February 2015, usually draw hundreds of millions of television viewers, making the contests the biggest box office attraction in the sport.
But diplomatic tensions have meant that the two teams have not played any series for more than three years and their rivalry is restricted to multi-national tournaments.
Ahead of the match, Pakistan's captain Shahid Afridi sounded diplomatic, saying the game could be an opportunity to improve relations between the two nations.
“Sport can always develop good relationships between countries,” Afridi told reporters at Fatullah, outside Dhaka.
Afridi's Pakistan will start as underdogs having lost five of their six previous Twenty20 internationals to India.
India came into the tournament on a string of good performances after defeating Australia and Sri Lanka in back-to-back series.
They carried their success into the Asia Cup opening match against hosts Bangladesh this week, registering a crushing 45-run win to give themselves the perfect boost before the Pakistan match.
Teams
Pakistan Squad
Khurram Manzoor, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan
India Squad
RG Sharma, AM Rahane, V Kohli, SK Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni*†, HH Pandya, RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, JJ Bumrah, A Nehra
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8 minutes ago
IND 13/3
Over 4 (4 runs)
Y Singh 4* (7) | V Kohli* 5* (10)
3.6: Irfan to Yuvraj, no run
3.5: Irfan to Yuvraj, no run
3.4: Irfan to Yuvraj, no run
3.3: Irfan to Yuvraj, no run
3.2: Irfan to Yuvraj, no run
3.1: Irfan to Yuvraj, pitched it up and the batsman just drives it into the gap for FOUR!
Mohammad Irfan into the attack.
13 minutes ago
IND 9/3
Over 3 (3 runs, 1 wicket)
V Kohli 5* (10) | Y Singh* 0* (1)
2.6: Amir to Kohli, no run
2.5: Amir toYuvraj, (1 bye)
2.4: Amir to Raina, OUT! Amir takes the third. Raina bites the dust. Amir on fire!
2.3: Amir to Kohli, 1 run
2.2: Amir to Kohli, no run
2.1: Amir to Raina, 1 run
Amir continues.
13 minutes ago
Amir vs Kohli, this is the battle all the former greats had been anticipating!
And Kohli survives! He was absolutely plumb there!
17 minutes ago
IND 6/2
Over 2 (4 runs)
V Kohli 5* (7) | S Raina* 0* (2)
1.6: Sami to Kohli, no run
1.5: Sami to Kohli, 2 runs
1.4: Sami to Kohli, no run
1.3: Sami to Kohli, 2 runs
1.2: Sami to Kohli, no run
1.1: Sami to Kohli, no run
Sami shares the new ball.
19 minutes ago
What a start by Amir this has been! India discovering just how difficult it is to get through this early phase on the tricky Sher-e-Bangla pitch.
24 minutes ago
Pakistan's batsmen in their last five outings before this match
Hafeez: 4, 2, 19, 61, 1
Sharjeel: 7, 50, 34, 18
Malik: 4, 14, 39, 20, 75
Akmal: 3, 5, 56, 24, 4
Sarfraz: 25, 41, 1, 2, 19
Afridi: 2, 8, 7, 23, 29
Consistency would be the keyword here. But can Amir produce some magic with ball?
26 minutes ago
IND 2/2
Over 1 (2 runs, 2 wickets)
S Raina 0* (2) | V Kohli* 1* (1)
0.6: Amir to Raina, no run
0.5: Amir to Raina, no run
0.4: Amir to Rahane, OUT! Amir on fire! Rahane trapped leg before! Two down!
0.4: Amir to Rahane, (wd)
0.3: Amir to Virat Kohli, 1 run
0.2: Amir to Sharma, sharp in-swinger. Got him! OUT! Pakistan celebrates! Amir struck on second delivery.
0.1: Amir to Rohit Sharma, big appeal. That was close. That was out. Pakistan players can't believe it. Amir can't believe it. Umpire says not out.
Mohammad Amir takes the new ball. Can he do some magic here?
42 minutes ago
Pakistan brought in four genuine pacers but it seemed like they needed a few more batsmen out there as India dismissed Afridi's side for an embarrassing total of 83. The way the pitch played, anything between 130-140 would have tested the Indian batting line, but as things stand Pakistan would need a miracle to defeat Dhoni's side.
about an hour ago
Will Pakistan bat out their 20 overs? Irfan's the last man in, could be a tough ask!
about an hour ago
PAK 83-10
Over 17.3 (0 runs, 2 wickets)
M Irfan 0* (0)
17.3: Pandya to Amir, OUT! Clean bowled! Pandya gets Amir's middle stump and things end here for Pakistan. Poor display. 83 all out.
17.2: Pandya to Sami, OUT! Shortish, the batsman tries to go over the top but couldn't hit it properly. The ball went straight up in the air and Raina took a clean catch.
17.1: Pandya to Sami, no run
Pandya returns.
about an hour ago
Pakistan have just avoided beating their lowest T20 score
about an hour ago
PAK 83/8
Over 17 (12 runs)
M Sami* 8* (14) | M Amir 1* (7)
16.6: Ashwin to Sami, 1 run
16.5: Ashwin to Sami, no run
16.4: Ashwin to Amir, 1 run
16.3: Ashwin to Amir, no run
16.2: Ashwin to Sami, 1 run
16.2: Ashwin to Sami, (wd) + 4 (bye)
16.1: Ashwin to Sami, FOUR! Sami takes the charge!
Ashwin continues.
about an hour ago
Big Nas returns
about an hour ago
PAK 71/8
Over 16 (1 run, 1 wicket)
M Amir 0* (5) | M Sami* 2* (10)
15.6: Jadeja to Amir, no run
15.5: Jadeja to Amir, no run
15.4: Jadeja to Amir, no run
15.3: Jadeja to Amir, no run
15.2: Jadeja to Amir, no run
15.2: Jadeja to Amir, (wd)
15.1: Jadeja to Sarfraz, OUT! Clean bowled! Sarfraz got beaten by the length of it. Straight into the stumps.
Jadeja into the attack.
about an hour ago
PAK 70/7
Over 15 (7 runs)
S Ahmed* 25* (23) | M Sami 2* (10)
14.6: Ashwin to Sarfraz, 1 run
14.5: Ashwin to Sarfraz, no run
14.4: Ashwin to Sami, 1 run
14.3: Ashwin to Sami, no run
14.2: Ashwin to Sarfraz, 1 run
14.1: Ashwin to Sarfraz, FOUR! Dances down the wicket, picks up the gap on mid-wicket.
Ashwin continues.
about an hour ago
PAK 63/7
Over 14 (5 runs)
M Sami 1* (8) | S Ahmed* 19* (19)
13.6: Jadeja to Sami, no run
13.5: Jadeja to Sami, no run
13.4: Jadeja to Sami, no run
13.3: Jadeja to Sarfraz, 1 run
13.2: Jadeja to Sarfraz, FOUR! Delicate. Just guides it to the third-man boundary.
13.1: Jadeja to Sarfraz, no run
Jadeja continues.
about an hour ago
The pre-match talk was all about Pakistan's fast men, but it's been India's pacers who dominated proceedings at the Sher-e-Bangla. Afridi's men haven't been too smart about their running between the wickets either.
about an hour ago
PAK 58/7
Over 13 (2 runs)
M Sami 1* (5) | S Ahmed* 14* (16)
12.6: Ashwin to Sami, no run
12.5: Ashwin to Sami, no run
12.4: Ashwin to Sami, no run
12.3: Ashwin to Sarfraz, 1 run
12.2: Ashwin to Sami, 1 run
12.1: Ashwin to Sami, no run
Ravichandaran Ashwin has been brought into the attack.
about an hour ago
Pakistan's lowest score in T20s is 74, which came against Australia in 2012. Will they create a new, unflattering record today?
about an hour ago
PAK 56/7
Over 12 (5 runs, 1 wicket)
S Ahmed 13* (15) | M Sami* 0* (0)
11.6: Jadeja to Sarfraz, 2 runs
11.5: Jadeja to Sarfraz, no run
11.5: Jadeja to Sami, (wd) + 1 run
11.4: Jadeja to Wahab, OUT! He tries to hit it hard and completely beaten by the length of the delivery. Trapped leg before. Departs on four.
11.3: Jadeja to Wahab, no run
11.2: Jadeja to Wahab, no run
11.1: Jadeja to Sarfraz, 1 run
Jadeja into the attack.
about an hour ago
PAK 51/6
Over 11 (4 runs)
Wahab Riaz 4* (9) | S Ahmed* 10* (12)
10.6: Pandya to Wahab, no run
10.5: Pandya to Sarfraz, 1 run
10.4: Pandya to Wahab, 1 run
10.3: Pandya to Sarfraz, 1 run
10.2: Pandya to Sarfraz, no run
10.1: Pandya to Wahab, 1 run
Pandya continues.
about an hour ago
PAK 47/6
Over 10 (4 runs)
Wahab Riaz* 2* (6) | S Ahmed 8* (9)
9.6: Yuvraj to Wahab, 1 run
9.5: Yuvraj to Wahab, no run
9.4: Yuvraj to Wahab, no run
9.3: Yuvraj to Sarfraz, 1 run
9.2: Yuvraj to Wahab, 1 run
9.1: Yuvraj to Sarfraz, 1 run
Yuvraj Singh into the attack now.
about an hour ago
PAK 43/6
Over 9 (1 run)
Wahab Riaz 0* (2) | S Ahmed* 6* (7)
8.6: Pandya to Wahab, no run
8.5: Pandya to Wahab, no run
8.4: Pandya to Sarfraz, 1 run
8.3: Pandya to Sarfraz, no run
8.2: Pandya to Sarfraz, no run
8.1: Pandya to Sarfraz, no run
Pandya into the attack.
about an hour ago
PAK 42/6
Over 8 (7 runs)
7.6 OUT! And Afridi's run out! What's happening here? What's Pakistan's lowest T20 score?
7.5 Sarfraz picks up a single
7.4 FOUR! Sarfraz cuts and the ball races to the point boundary
7.3 No run
7.2 Yuvraj to Afridi, the Pakistan captain picks up a single
7.1 OUT! Yuvraj picks up a wicket of his very first ball! The arm ball does the trick for Umar Akmal! Will Pakistan cross three figures?
about an hour ago
PAK 35/4
Over 7 (3 runs)
Umar Akmal 0* (0) |
5.6: OUT! Malik throws his hands at the wide delivery and edges it to the keeper. Pakistan in big, big trouble now.
5.5: No run
5.4: No run. Malik clearly struggling here
5.3: No run, steered to third man
5.2: No run
5.1: Pandya to Akmal, and the batsman plays the pull off his very first ball for a couple of runs
