India vs Pakistan, Super Four, Match 3 - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Post-toss thoughts

Hola, are you with me? Be ready to see India face up to the 18-year-old wonder kid, who few months back was playing the U19 World Cup! Usman Khan has been dropped, who Aamer Sohail thought was predictable with his angles. Shadab Khan is back from the injury which kept him out of the last game.

India have gone in unchanged. Ramiz Raja did cheekily ask Rohit about the wristspinners at the toss -- remember that they went wicketless in the last game.

Teams:

India - Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Pakistan - Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi

Toss

Pakistan win the toss, again, and they are batting, again. Kevin Pietersen wasn't one bit fan of that decision, arguing how the pitch plays better under lights. Sarfraz here argues that it's a used pitch and hence he wants to put a total on the board. What that total will be, and how that'll challenge India, is anybody's guess.

BTW, Pietersen is again seething at Sarfraz Ahmed's call. "I don't know what he's doing. I have no idea on earth why he's made that decision."

Building up...

Whether an India fan or Pakistan, cricket has basically screwed you over if you are born after the 90s. You just don't know what an India-Pakistan game can be. All you know are boring manifestations of a glorious rivalry, with passing moments that you hold onto in greed. Yea yea there are occasional news about TV sets being smashed to smithereens but who says that wasn't because of the lack of contest on offer? [I exaggerate, yes]

Anyway, here's a more optimistic preview by Prakash Govindasreenivasan, who's still in Dubai, admiring the fantastic room view he has. He also writes about Ravindra Jadeja latching onto his ODI lifeline, and how he can be an important part of India's three-pronged spin attack. What's wrist spin, again?