The Pakistan cricket team will take on arch-rivals India in the 12th match of ICC World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14. Babar Azam and co. are coming into this encounter on the back of consecutive victories and so are India. But only one team will emerge victorious in this contest. The two arch-rivals locked horns in the Asia Cup Super 4 match recently and Pakistan lost that match by a huge margin of 228 runs. They got outplayed in all departments and that’s why they will be eager to come up with a much better performance this time.
Here, we shall take a look at the predicted Pakistan playing XI for this crucial ODI clash against the Indian cricket team.
Openers: Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq
Abdullah Shafique walked into the Pakistan lineup in the previous match and made an instant impact. The right-hander played a fabulous innings of 113 and will be eager to carry that form forward into the India vs Pakistan encounter. Imam-ul-Haq, on the other hand, has encountered failures in both games so far with scores of 15 and 12 to his name. The southpaw needs to step up in this highly important fixture.
Middle-order: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel
Babar Azam, the Pakistan cricket team captain, has struggled to get going. He has registered scores of 5 and 10 in the two games so far and he will be eager to make things work in this high-stakes clash. Mohammad Rizwan, on the other hand, has performed well in both games so far. He followed up his 68 against the Netherlands with another superb knock of 131* against Sri Lanka.
The left-handed Saud Shakeel has also justified his position in the Pakistani side. He was adjudged the Player of the Match against the Netherlands for his exceptional knock of 68 and then he also did well against Sri Lanka to contribute 31 runs at a crucial juncture.
All-rounders: Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz
The Pakistan all-rounders have been quiet so far. Iftikhar Ahmed did play a good cameo of an unbeaten 22 from just 10 deliveries against Sri Lanka and also claimed a wicket in the game against the Netherlands with his off-spin. But Shadab Khan, a leggie, and the left-arm orthodox Mohammad Nawaz are yet to perform to their potential. Both spin bowling all-rounders have been expensive with their bowling and they haven’t contributed much with their batting either. So, this India vs Pakistan match is going to be a good opportunity for them to showcase their talent.
Bowlers: Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Pacer Hasan Ali is playing for Pakistan in the absence of Naseem Shah and he has been delivering. After picking up a couple of wickets against the Netherlands, Hasan Ali delivered with four wickets against Sri Lanka. He was a bit expensive, though, conceding 71 runs in his 10 overs against the Lankans.
Left-armer Shaheen Afridi hasn’t been performing to his potential either. He has claimed only a couple of wickets in the two games so far and was quite expensive against Sri Lanka. Haris Rauf, however, has been bowling well. After registering figures of 3/43 against the Netherlands, he went on to claim two wickets against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan’s predicted XI for Cricket World Cup 2023 clash against India:Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
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