Super Sixes SRL | IND vs PAK - Preview, Form Guide, Predicted XI, Key Players

BySportsbet.io, SportsCafe Editor

06/02/2020

After demolishing England, India will now lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan to carry forward their winning momentum. The Virat Kohli-led side have been ruthless in chasing but somehow, their own skipper and chase master has remained silent so far, something they would want to change this time.

Form Guide

India - W W L W L

With three wins in the last five games, India have momentum on their side coming into the encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan in the International Super Sixes SRL. India have been totally dominant in the games they have won or never really stood up in the ones they lost - this is a pattern they would be eager to change when they will face an unpredictable Pakistan side in this round of Simulated Reality League.

Pakistan - W L L L L

The story of the Pakistani side has been entirely different from their Indian counterparts, with the side managing just one win after four straight losses. A terrific T20 outfit for the major part of the last three years, Pakistan can turn up the volumes on any day and when that opposition is India, you bank on them

Game Day Watch

Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant have been two absolute stars for India in this SRL and the story was no different in the last game, as England were clueless on how to contain them. So much so that the Men in Blue tracked down a huge 216-run target in 19 overs, with usual support from Rohit Sharma. Iyer remained unbeaten on 82 to nullify Jason Roy’s beast-like performance in the middle.

For Pakistan, the story was no different though. Coming to the game against Australia yesterday on the back of four straight losses, Pakistan were powered by Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam to push their total to 211 in 20 overs before bowlers inflicted a huge damage. Haris Rauf, Imad Wasim and Mohammed Hafeez were the wreckers in chief to dismantle Australia by a colossal margin of 85 runs.

Key Batsmen

Virat Kohli

You can’t tame the beast forever, alright! Even by a normal batsman’s standard, Virat Kohli has had a terrible SRL but that doesn’t amount to anything in the long run. The Indian skipper has all the ability to put that behind and display a kind of dominance he has been accustomed to in white-ball cricket. Trust him to deliver, just like Sportsbet.io does.

Fakhar Zaman

The Pakistani opener always brings his A-game to the fore whenever he plays against India and after his exploits against Australia and New Zealand in the last two games, where he managed 42 and 75 respectively with a combined SR of 156, the feeling of him doing an encore is at an all-time high. He has been a perfect fuel to Babar Azam’s fire at No.3 and that’s the reason why I am not surprised by the fact that Zaman has been favoured even more than almost everyone sans Babar Azam.

Key Bowlers

Yuzvendra Chahal

A partnership breaker, Yuzvendra Chahal’s main forte is to pick wickets even when there is the least possibility of that happening. He sometimes gives away a lot of runs in the process, but as he showed against England yesterday, he is capable of forcing the teams to the brink. If he can do the same thing once again, a struggling Pakistani middle-order might suffer the worst.

Haris Rauf

An accidental superstar, Haris Rauf brought every sense of his prized possession to the International Super Sixes after dominating the scene in the Big Bash League. The way he broke Australia’s back in the last encounter not only talked up his immense talent, but also sent warning signs to the Indian side for today's encounter. India will be wary of him for sure.

When to watch: June 2, 2020, 6.45 PM

Where to watch: SportsCafe and Sportsbet.io

Predicted XIs

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Pakistan : Babar Azam (C), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf