On Sunday, India finally ended a 92-year wait by beating Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series in Chennai. India won by 280 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, marking a historic moment.

This victory brings India’s Test record to 179 wins and 178 losses after 580 matches. India played its first Test in 1932, led by CK Naidu, but lost by 158 runs. Since then, India had never managed to have more wins than losses in Tests.

India now joins Australia, England, South Africa, and Pakistan as teams with more Test wins than losses.

READ ALSO: Virat Kohli Commits Massive DRS Blunder vs Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma’s Reaction Says It All

In the match, Ravichandran Ashwin shined with a six-wicket haul, helping India dominate Bangladesh and win by 280 runs on the fourth day, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

Though India’s top order struggled in the first innings, Ashwin’s century and Jadeja’s 86 helped turn things around. India gained a 227-run lead after bowling out Bangladesh for 149 in the first innings. Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant added more runs in the second innings, setting Bangladesh a tough target of 515.

In the end, Bangladesh was bowled out for 234, with Najmul Hossain Shanto scoring 82 runs off 127 balls. India secured a comfortable victory.

India vs Pakistan Highlights, Asia Cup T20 Match Today: India won their opening game against Pakistan by seven wickets, with 35 balls left, thanks to a strong start from Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana.

India’s bowlers did a great job, limiting Pakistan to just 108 runs in the first innings. Pakistan’s captain, Nida Dar, won the toss and decided to bowl first, even though the conditions were good for batting.

India’s plan for the match against the UAE focuses on improving their own tactics rather than worrying about their opponents. Their bowlers, especially Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, and Pooja Vastrakar, did a great job against Pakistan, which made the team management happy.

Although Pooja Vastrakar gave away a few more runs, her overall performance was still valuable. The team also hopes that left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who came back during the home series against South Africa, will do well in the next game. Renuka Singh mentioned that her good spell against Pakistan was helped by the weather and her hard work in practice.

ALSO READ: Ishan Kishan’s Path Back to the Indian Team: Playing a Full Domestic Season

Indian batters were aggressive against Pakistan, reaching their target with 35 balls left. Openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana set a solid base with an 85-run partnership in just 9.3 overs. Even though they lost three wickets after that, the strong start gives hope for more good performances from the middle-order batters, starting with the match against the UAE.

The Asia Cup is important for India as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year. Renuka Singh highlighted that this tournament is a crucial learning experience because they won’t have many matches before the World Cup and conditions in Bangladesh could be similar.

Despite their future goals, India needs to focus on their current games. The UAE showed potential in a close match against Nepal on Friday, even though they lost by six wickets. This suggests that the UAE could present a tough challenge.

In the second match of the day, Pakistan will try to recover from their loss to India by aiming for a win against a tricky Nepal side.

India hopes to keep their winning streak alive and secure a spot in the semifinals by sticking to their game plan and using this tournament as key preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

This win marks India’s first victory in the Asia Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur’s team will play against the UAE on Sunday at 2:00 PM at the same venue.

The clash between Rohit Sharma’s Team India and their arch-rivals Pakistan is scheduled for June 19 at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York. According to a report from USA Today, tickets for this match have been snapped up fast, with some going for double, or even more, than their original price.

Initially, tickets for these matches were priced at a humble $6 (₹497), with the most expensive ticket for the India vs. Pakistan game pegged at $400 (₹33,148), excluding tax. However, on resale platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek, these prices have shot up dramatically, with some tickets fetching over ₹1 crore. This puts them on par with other major sporting events in the US, like the NBA or Major League Baseball.

ALSO READ: Usman Khan ton powers Multan Sultans into playoffs

If you’re eyeing a seat at the India vs Pakistan clash on StubHub, be prepared to shell out at least $1,259 (₹1.04 lakh) for the cheapest ticket. And for the high rollers, the price tag can go up to a staggering $175,000 (₹1.45 lakh), with platform fees adding another $50,000 (₹41.44 lakh) to make it a grand total of ₹1.86 lakh, as reported by USA Today.

Comparatively, the average ticket for the World Series costs around $1,100 (approximately ₹9 lakh), while tickets for the NBA Finals have been resold for roughly $24,000 (around ₹19.9 lakh).

While tickets for other matches involving India in the tournament are also being resold at higher prices, none quite match the sky-high demand and prices of the India-Pakistan clash.

As per the latest standings, South Africa (12 points from 8 games), who have already qualified for the semis, and Australia (10 points from 7 games) are likely to finish in the second and third positions, respectively.

Australia are yet to secure their spot in the semi-final stage but have two matches left. They will face Afghanistan on Tuesday and Bangladesh on Saturday. A win will assure Australia a top-three finish in the league stage.

The fourth and final spot in the top four is currently contested by three teams: New Zealand, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands have an outside chance of making it to the top four, but it is still an improbable mathematical possibility.

The fourth-placed team will face India in the semi-final stage, which could potentially set up another India vs Pakistan mouth-watering encounter in the mega event.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023 Points Table after SL vs BAN: Bangladesh beats Sri Lanka to keep Champions Trophy hopes alive

There are few scenarios through which Pakistan can qualify for the semi-finals and potentially face arch-rivals India:

Scenario 1

Pakistan play their last league match against England on November 11, after New Zealand conclude their round-robin campaign against Sri Lanka on November 9.

If New Zealand lose to Sri Lanka and Pakistan win against England, Pakistan will move to 10 points, surpassing New Zealand’s 8 points. However, Pakistan would also hope for Australia and South Africa to defeat Afghanistan to prevent them from reaching 10 points.

If Afghanistan win one of their remaining matches, both Pakistan and Afghanistan will have 10 points, and the net run rate will determine the semi-finalist. In the unlikely event that Afghanistan beat both Australia and South Africa, they will reach 12 points and secure a spot in the semis.

Scenario 2

If New Zealand defeat Sri Lanka, Pakistan beat England, and Afghanistan lose both their matches, it will come down to net run rate to decide whether Pakistan or New Zealand advance to the knockout stage.

New Zealand’s current net run rate (+0.398) is better than Pakistan’s (+0.036). Pakistan will need to calculate the margin of victory against England to surpass New Zealand’s net run rate. However, if Afghanistan also win one of their remaining two matches, they will have 10 points but with a negative net run rate (-0.330), they are currently third in the race for the fourth semi-final spot based on net run rate.

Scenario 3

If New Zealand’s last match against Sri Lanka is washed out due to rain, then a win for Pakistan against England will take them ahead of the Kiwis in the standings with 10 points. One win for Afghanistan will also take them to 10 points and NRR will come into play to decide the semi-finalists.

If rain washed out both Pakistan and New Zealand’s last games, then the Kiwis will go through on a superior net run rate.

Ind vs Pak Score Highlights: Shreyas Iyer smashed a massive FOUR to complete his half-century and take India to its 8th World Cup victory against Pakistan by 7 wickets. With this massive win, India has dethroned New Zealand from the top of the ICC World Cup 2023 points table and now India stands on the top.  

Rohit Sharma missed out on his century as Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi dismissed him on 85. The crowds of Ahmedabad gave a standing ovation to his great innings and now KL Rahul has joined the chase with Shreyas Iyer. 

Rohit Sharma smashed his second consecutive half-century and leading India’s run chase. Hasan Ali dismissed Virat Kohli to end the big partnership and Shreyas Iyer joined his skipper to continue to 192-run chase. 

Team India started the 192-run chase on great note as opener Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill smashed boundaries. Shaheen Afridi made a come back in the game as he dismissed Shubman Gill. Virat Kohli has joined the chase with Rohit Sharma and the two most experienced batters are punishing Pakistan bowlers.  

Indian bowlers dominated the game completely as they triggered a collapse in Pakistan innings. The Babar Azam-led squad was going well till 30 overs, but as pacer Mohammed Siraj ended the big partnership between Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan, the batting collapsed and the team is all-out on a low score of 191 runs. 

Pakistan batting is collapsing under pressure as Indian bowlers continue to clinch wickets. First Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed to put Pakistan batters into pressure and then Jasprit Bumrah clinched Muhammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan’s wicket. 

Mohammed Siraj provided team India with a breakthrough in the crucial Ind vs Pak match as he dismissed Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. The partnership between Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan ends and India is back in the match. Saud Shakeel has joined Muhammad Rizwan. 

India bowlers started on a good note as Mohammed Siraj dismissed Abdullah Shafique and Hardik Pandya took out Imam-ul-Haq to provide strong start to the team. But, now the duo of Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan are on crease and India knows it can be dangerous. 

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are leading India’s attack and Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq will have a big score in mind on the pitch of Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. 

Rohit Sharma-led Indian Cricket team is all set to face their arch-rivals Pakistan in the nail-biting match in the ICC Men’s World Cup tournament at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 14 October from 2 pm onwards.

Looking at the current stats, both India and Pakistan have played two matches each in this ICC Men’s World Cup tournament and won them both. This is the eighth meeting between India and Pakistan in 50-over World Cups and Pakistan are yet to beat India in World Cups.

Also Read: Ind vs Pak: Why Indian spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin – have an edge over Pakistan spinners

Ind vs Pak: Head to Head 

In the past four decades, since the 1980s, the two sides have played a total of 204 times, where Pakistan has won 88 matches compared to India’s 73 victories. In 134 ODIs, India has won 56 matches compared to 73 matches by Pakistan.

ICC Men’s World Cup clashes 

While in World Cups, India won all the 7 ODIs. In T20Is, India won 5, Pakistan won 1, and one resulted in a tie. However, In the Champions Trophy, Pakistan remained undefeated in 3 matches compared to India, which won only two matches.

Players to watch out for during IND vs PAK clash 

India: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul (batting side). On the bowling side, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and R Ashwin will definitely try to dominate the game.

Pakistan: On the batting side, skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Imam-ul-Haq can turn the tides. While known for their bowling prowess, Pakistan has a tough bowling side led by Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Shadab Khan.

Weather Report for India vs Pakistan match:

The chance of rain in Ahmedabad on match day is almost nil, according to Accuweather.

Pitch Report for India vs Pakistan match:

The Narendra Modi Stadium offers substantial assistance to the batters, presenting a good batting surface. The captain winning the toss should bat first.

Steaming details for India vs Pakistan match:

The India vs Pakistan match will air live on Indian television via Star Sports channels. Indian viewers can also enjoy free live streaming of these matches on the Disney+Hotstar app and website. The match starts at 2 pm (IST).

India vs Pakistan Score Updates: SCORECARD 

Pakistan

Abdullah Shafique 20

Imam-ul-Haq 36

Babar Azam 50

Muhammad Rizwan 49

Saud Shakeel 6

Iftikhar Ahmed 4

Shadab Khan 2

Mohammad Nawaz 4

Hasan Ali 12

Shaheen Afridi* 2

Haris Rauf 2

India bowling

Jasprit Bumrah 2/19 (7)

Mohammed Siraj 2/50 (8)

Hardik Pandya 2/34 (6)

Kuldeep Yadav 2/35 (10)

Ravindra Jadeja 2/38 (9.5)

Shardul Thakur 0/12 (2)

India

Rohit Sharma 86

Shubman Gill 16

Virat Kohli 16

Shreyas Iyer 53

KL Rahul 19

Pakistan bowling

Shaheen Afridi 2/36 (6)

Hasan Ali 1/34 (6)

Mohammed Nawaz 0/47 (8.3)

Haris Rauf 0/43 (6)

Shadab Khan 0/31 (4)

Both nations possess a storied heritage of spinners who have defined the game and art, making their meeting a plot within a plot. Anil Kumble and the two Mushtaqs, Harbhajan Singh and Saeed Ajmal, spinners have been flavourful in this spicy rivalry. This time, though, India’s spin trio looks clearly a cut above their Pakistan counterparts. How they bowl in the middle could define the game.

How does the spin ammo of Ind vs Pak match?

The trinity of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Ashwin are vastly superior to Pakistan’s trusted pair of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz in probably every facet, be it their skills, economy or recent form. A wide spectrum of skills blend when India pick Yadav, Jadeja, and Ashwin. Jadeja is much more nuanced than a bowl-flat, hit-stumps left-arm orthodox spinner. He had added fascinating layers of variations into his craft, besides the acquired wisdom of making something out of every variety of pitch. On non-turners, he could be callous like a loan-shark; on slightly helpful surfaces he could be mean as a sniper. Kuldeep Yadav, rare as his tribe is, has developed more control over his variations these days and has rediscovered his verve and fizz. Ashwin continues to be a spin-alchemist, enhancing his game with an assortment of variations. Just run through their list of tricks—arm-ball, wrong’un, carrom ball, reverse carrom, off-break, flipper, left-arm orthodox, and left-arm wrist spent—you wonder whether there has been a better confluence of bowling styles ever in ODI cricket?

Also Read: New Zealand vs Bangladesh Highlights, World Cup 2023: Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell’s knocks take NZL to a thumping win

In comparison, Pakistan’s pair looks modest. As effective as Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz could be when they are at their best—they have not quite been in recent times—both are primarily defensive bowlers, a clan that is getting increasingly redundant these days. Nawaz takes a wicket every 39 balls, this tournament it has shot to 48 per wicket. Shadab too had a lean patch, picking two wickets at a strike rate of 39. Worse, they have combined to leak 6.03 runs an over. In comparison. an Indian spinner has grabbed a wicket every 33rd ball and conceded a frugal 3.72 runs an over. Even if they benefited from playing on a turner in Chepauk, you cannot discount the collective threat or their capacity to change matches irrespective of surfaces. Speaking of experience, Kuldeep alone has 28 more wickets (155) than Shadab and Nawaz combined (127) in this format.

Ind vs Pak: How could the superiority of spinners dictate the middle overs?

Gone is the trend of captains looking to restrict batsmen in the middle-overs. Getting wickets is the new buzz. Consequently, teams deploy a middle-over enforcer, a hit-the-deck seamer. Pakistan have the impeccable Haris Rauf. India often resort to Jasprit Bumrah, or when in the side, Mohammed Shami. But India, more than any other team, have relied on their spinners to pocket wickets in this phase. It’s a ploy that has made rich dividends, as India boast the best strike rate between the 11th and 40th overs (28.09) among all teams this year. In contrast, Pakistan had to wait 43.62 balls for a wicket during this span.

India and Pakistan are set to go at each other for a second time in the 2023 Asia Cup, this time at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The first match between the two teams seemed set to be a thriller after India’s remarkable fightback batting first, but the Pakistan chase never happened due to rain.

With showers playing a major role in the rest of the matches as well, the tournament organizers have announced that a reserve day will be kept for this fixture alone. This decision has been met with much backlash, including from Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha himself, but it does look like this reserve day will now be used after all, considering the weather predictions coming in with just hours to go for the match.

Also Read: India vs Pakistan Live Score, Asia Cup 2023: Rain likely to play spoilsport again

According to AccuWeather, the probability of precipitation is set to be at 90% throughout the afternoon in Colombo today, which is an indication of even incessant rains throughout that period. It goes down to only 85 percent after sunset, which makes it all the more difficult for the match to take place, likely pushing it to Monday. However, in a positive update, the weather in Colombo this morning seems promising. Despite scattered clouds, the sun is playing hide and seek, raising hopes of an on-time start. But here’s the bummer. While the forecast looks good until the start of scheduled play, it is only in the afternoon – around 3 – that things appear dull. There are 80 percent chances of showers, which only swell to 90 percent around 5 p.m. with no signs of slowing down for the remainder of the day.

Despite a reserve day, the first priority of the match officials will be to get a result on Sunday itself. In case of time loss and delays, the overs will be trimmed and the match timings can be extended by 90 minutes. If the game cannot be completed, the action will move to Monday, where play will resume from where it stopped today.

How the first IND vs PAK match went

India had won the toss and chosen to bat first. While Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill seemed to get off to a steady start early on, the first rain break seemed to turn the tables. It came after the second ball of the fifth over, and Shaheen Afridi promptly went on to dismiss Rohit off the second ball after the restart. India went on to crumble to 66/4 in 14.1 overs, with Pakistan’s pacers dominating.

However, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan then put up a 138-run stand for the sixth wicket off just 141 balls that pretty much flattened the Pakistan bowlers. Kishan scored 82 off 81 balls, while Pandya made 87 off 90, and their effort helped India put up a total of 266. Rain had made an appearance almost as soon as the last Indian wicket fell, and it never went away, leading to the two teams never walking out for Pakistan’s chase.

India face a selection dilemma for their upcoming match, with KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan both being fit to play in the wicketkeeper-batsman’s role. Moreover, they may make a decision between playing Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel based on what the pitch looks like. Meanwhile, Pakistan will enter the match against India with a four-pronged pace attack that includes Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Faheem Ashraf. The spin department will be marshalled by vice-captain and leg-spinner Shadab Khan, with the support of part-time off-spinners Agha Salman and Iftikhar Ahmed.

India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 Live Score: Forget the battle between Pakistan’s fearsome pace attack vs India’s top order, all the eyes will be on the skies again as the two arch-rivals clash in the Super Four at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. There is uncertainty if there will be a full contest this time as the met office predicts thunderstorms and rain from late Saturday night through the whole of Monday.

For a tournament that is being played just five weeks before the World Cup, it was supposed to be a dress rehearsal. More so for a team like India that is planning to use the Asia Cup to assess where three of their key players – Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer – who are returning from long injury layoffs

Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin reveals reason behind Pakistan’s recent dominating performance in international cricket

With only three more ODIs left before the World Cup, time is running out for Rohit Sharma & Co. In the two matches they have played so far, the one against Pakistan was washed out while the one against Nepal was a rain-curtailed fixture. These is a far from ideal situation for a team that desperately needs matches to figure out its best XI.

India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 playing XIs

India predicted XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan playing XI vs India: Babar Azam (Captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to face each other on September 2 in the ongoing Asia Cup. Both teams are in Group A alongside Nepal, and all eyes are on this IND vs PAK encounter that is scheduled to be played in Pallekele. This is the first time India and Pakistan will lock horns in the ODI format since the 2019 World Cup. The two teams faced each other in the T20 format multiple times during this period with two T20 World Cups taking place in 2021 and 2022. However, the ODI fever is back and we might see them play against each other potentially five times by November 19 if they make it to the final of the Asia Cup and the semi-final/final of World Cup.

The two teams faced off at thew Old Trafford in Manchester in 2019 World Cup on June 16. Pakistan opted to field after winning the toss only for KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to pummel runs at will. The ball didn’t move much upfront as the opening duo took on the likes of Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz. Rohit went on to slam a brilliant century as he looked unperturbed right through his stay in the middle while Rahul scored a valiant 57 before getting out.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2023: Ishan Kishan to bat in middle order against Pakistan; Sanju Samson unlikely to be tried

The opening partnership of 136 runs was broken only in 24th over by Wahab getting Rahul but that only invited more trouble for Pakistan with then skipper Virat Kohli coming out to bat in the middle. He slammed a brilliant 77 while Rohit smashed 140 runs off just 113 balls. Hardik Pandya was promoted up the order to accumulate quick runs in the death overs but India didn’t the desired finishing kick and even then, they managed to post 336 runs on the board after 50 overs.

In response, India lost Bhuvneshwar Kumar to an unfortunate injury but Vijay Shankar filled in well to nip out Imam-ul-Haq early. A century partnership between Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam followed. While the run-rate wasn’t up to the mark, the partnership was growing in confidence threatening to get close to India’s score. But Kuldeep Yadav brought beauty to Castle Babar, and that triggered a sensational Pakistan collapse. From 117/1, Pakistan were reduced to 129/5 in three overs thanks with Hardik Pandya also being amongst wickets apart from the chinaman Kuldeep.

The collapse made the result of the inconsequential and with rain also intervening, the target was later adjusted to 302 runs in 40 overs for Pakistan. They were never going to get there and eventually could only muster 212 runs for the loss of six wickets, losing the game by 89 runs. Rohit Sharma was awarded the player of the match award for his exceptional century.

Last week, during India’s preparatory camp in Bangalore, Rahul Dravid had called the team over for dinner at his home. That evening, players trooped out of the lift, and stood around along with the chief selector Ajit Agarkar and other support staff. The most cheerful among them was Ishan Kishan, cracking jokes, backslapping others, and generally in a good mood. These are good times for Ishan. Three consecutive half-centuries against West Indies, and injury niggles to chief contenders has put him in a chance to seal a middle-order spot in the world cup. And it will start with the Asia Cup where India is set to try him at No.4 or No. 5 against Pakistan and Nepal.

With KL Rahul, who is recovering from a groin niggle ruled out of group stages of the Asia Cup, India’s team management’s latest experiment would be to make Ishan Kishan bat in the middle-order. Though Sanju Samson has travelled with the team as a reserve for Rahul, with the chances of him finding a spot in the World Cup squad – set to be announced on September 5 — looking bleak, the team management is planning to try Kishan in at No 4 or 5.

With Shikhar Dhawan not part of the plans since last December and Kishan, primarily an opener, scoring a double century against Bangladesh, he had his place sealed as a third choice opener. However, with India’s middle-order composition far from certain and top three of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli looking set, the makeup of the middle order has remained uncertain especially in the absence of Rahul. Especially after Shreyas Iyer, who had consistently done well at No.4, got injured. And even more so, after Suryakumar Yadav failed to sparkle in that spot.

Also Read: Asia Cup2023 lands in big controversy as Pakistan’s name missing from team jerseys, PCB blasted before India match

While playing Samson would continue to give them the flexibility that skipper Rohit talked about in the press conference after the Asia Cup was announced, it is understood that the team management doesn’t want to add more complications this close to the World Cup. With Kishan’s position locked, bringing Samson back into the contention so close to the World Cup will add a new headache. In the previous weeks with Rahul’s availability being a huge concern, the team management did deliberate on shuffling the top three where one of Rohit and Kohli were being actively considered to bat at No 4.

However, following a week-long camp at the KSCA facilities in Alur in the outskirts of Bangalore, India’s think-tank has decided not to break the top three. The Indian Express understands that Rohit was not keen on the top three batting out of their positions as they brought stability at the top. Instead, with Kishan not being first choice player in the XI, the team management has decided to try him in the middle-order as he would also bring in something different by being a left-hander.

In the six matches that Kishan has batted in the middle-order (at No 4), he averages only 22.75 and has a tendency to struggle against spinners while starting his innings. Kishan will be one of the two reserve batsmen in the squad with the other likely to be Suryakumar Yadav.

WC squad selection

Meanwhile, it is understood that the senior national selection committee will meet on September 5, a day after India’s group match against Nepal to pick the squad for the World Cup. The participating teams are supposed to handover the squad list to the ICC on September 5 and the indications are that the meeting would be held in Kandy with chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar joining the team here on Thursday.