ICC T20 World Cup 2021, India vs Pakistan: Team Kohli takes on Babar Azam & boys — Top 10 updates

The extra bounce is also expected to make life difficult for the side batting first. (Twitter/BCCI)

India vs Pakistan ICC T20 World Cup: India kick off their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 campaign today with a mouth-watering clash against arch-rivals Pakistan. The political upheaval between the countries has largely limited bilateral meetings to ICC tournaments over the past decade. The Men in Blue boast an enviable 5-0 record, including that famous bowl-off victory in the first-ever edition, against their neighbours in T20 World Cups.

Virat Kohli & Co come into the encounter with two comprehensive victories in their warm-up matches against Australia and England. India will have an added advantage with all squad members playing in the just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), in which Dubai — the venue for today’s match — was a key venue.

Pakistan, on the other hand, cruised to victory over the West Indies before falling to a defeat to South Africa in their two warm-up matches. Pakistan were also robbed off significant match practice after England and New Zealand pulled out of their respective tours.

Here are the latest updates as the countries prepare for what promises to be an electrifying encounter:

IND VS PAK Weather Forecast
The weatherman has predicted clear skies with the temperature hovering around the 28-33° Celsius mark. While the wind speed will gradually come down as the match progresses, dew is likely to play a significant role in the latter stages.

Visibility also remains at an excellent 16 km, while humidity is predicted at 66%.

India vs Pakistan Pitch Report
The pitch in Dubai favoured slower bowlers throughout the IPL. Even fast bowlers gained significant advantage when they varied their pace.

While the playing surface doesn’t offer much turn, England spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid extracted significant movement during their victory over the West Indies in the opening game of the tournament on Saturday. The extra bounce is also expected to make life difficult for the side batting first. However, the surface tends to become much slower as the match progresses.