India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2022: Toss result and playing 11s for today's match, umpires list and pitch report

The much-awaited India-Pakistan T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 clash will take place at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, October 23. The build-up to the marquee Group 2 match of the tournament has centered on whether the Men in Green will have any psychological advantage, having won two of the last three meetings between the arch-rivals.

Until last year, Pakistan had never beaten Team India in a World Cup match (ODI or T20I). That changed on October 24, 2021, when a mentally fatigued Indian outfit got hammered by 10 wickets in Dubai. A year later, the teams will clash again, this time in Australia. Will a change in venue and a different approach favor the Men in Blue?

Ahead of the T20 World Cup, India and Pakistan also met twice in the Asia Cup. Both matches went down to the wire. Rohit Sharma and Co. won the group match by five wickets, while the Babar Azam-led outfit clinched the Super 4 encounter by the same margin.

According to most cricket experts, Sunday’s contest will be about India’s batters versus Pakistan’s bowlers. However, Rohit made a pertinent point at the pre-match conference, stating that fielding cannot be ignored. On big grounds in Australia, extra runs scored or saved can be crucial.

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Today's IND vs PAK toss result

India have won the toss and have decided to bowl first. Explaining the decision, skipper Rohit said:

“Looks like a good pitch, there’s a bit of grass covering. It's a little overcast, so the ball might swing around a little bit. We'll try and use that to our advantage.”

India have picked Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami in the playing XI.

Pakistan skipper Babar admitted they would have bowled first, but added they would now look to post around 160-170.

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IND vs PAK - Today's match playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (w), Shan Masood, Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.

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Today's IND vs PAK pitch report

According to Michael Clarke, the pitch has some nice covering of grass, it is rock-hard and is a good batting wicket overall. There will be some pace and bounce on offer. Captain winning the toss must elect to bat first, opines the former Aussie skipper.

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Today's IND vs PAK match players list

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Rishabh Pant, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Hooda.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Fakhar Zaman.

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IND vs PAK - Today's match umpires

On-field umpires: Marais Erasmus, Rod Tucker

TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle