Welcome to live coverage of the T20 World Cup Super 12 match between India and Pakistan at the MCG.
Pakistan are on the back foot, with India off to the perfect start after sending their opponents to bat on an MCG wicket that has plenty to offer.
Pakistan brought up their 50 from the last ball of their ninth over, but it could have been worse had Shan Masood been caught at fine leg attempting a hook shot.
Spinner Ashwin, who is often in a controversial situation, claimed a catch in the field but replays showed the ball hitting the ground after Shan held on.
Shan and Iftikhar Ahmed have helped steady the ship after the early loss of their top two.
After winning the toss and sending Pakistan through, star batsman Mohammad Rizwan was hit on the thumb early by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and required medical attention.
The moment set the tone for India’s early attack, with their relentless quicks on one wicket doing a lot.
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Ashdeep Singh backed it up by catching star batsman Azam on the first ball of the second over, with the Pakistan captain forced to hunt for a golden duck to leave them 1-1.
Pakistan should have been 2-1 but Virat Kohli failed to hit the stumps from yards after Shan Masood hit and ran to mid-on in an attempt to get off the mark.
Rizwan’s (4) 12-ball horror show ended when the right-hander was caught at fine leg as he failed to get past a short ball from Singh. His dismissal left Pakistan 2-15 after four overs.
Arshdeep Singh appeals for the wicket of Babar Azam at the MCG on October 23, 2022 in Melbourne. Photo: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
The match is the most popular ticket in town, with the MCG selling out in just 30 minutes.
Tonight, these two proud cricketing nations clash in Melbourne, with the respective sides’ fortunes resting on two of today’s greatest batsmen: India’s Virat Kohli and Pakistan’s Azam.
When the two nations met last year, Pakistan stunned India in the most dramatic fashion as Rizwan (79 not out) and Azam (68 off 52) led their nation to a massive victory of 10 points after chasing 7-151 after just 17.5 overs. .
The win, however, was set up by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took 3-31 and dismissed India’s top two off their opening seven balls before removing Kohli.
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Pakistan reached the semi-finals before brilliance from Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis saw them eliminated by Australia, while India failed to reach the knockout stage.
Both nations are considered strong contenders to lift the World Cup while India enter the tournament as Ricky Ponting’s pick to reach the final.
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Ponting named Suryakumar Yadav as his breakout star for the World Cup, with the experienced batsman now a mainstay in India’s short-form side.
India lead Pakistan 12-1 in the World Cup and India great Sunil Gavaskar believes it is because his nation can “absorb the pressure much better”.
“It won’t be the catastrophe (for India) that seems to be the case when a Pakistani team loses to India,” he told the ABC.
Pakistan have a consistent side and will open again with Azam and Rizwan.
The MCG is expected to be full after being sold out within an hour as fans hope the rain stays away.
The sun was shining over the stadium about two hours before the first ball with a promising sign.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Follow all the action live on our blog below!