T20 World Cup: India faces Pakistan as both teams kick off campaign

They have changed their batting approach to a more aggressive one; they have changed some personnel to add more impair ready to act players in the team; they have even added fresh blood to the bowling side.

The Men in Blue are ready to kick off their ICC T20 WC 2022 campaign on the right note regardless of the fact that the first game is an ultra-high pressure one against traditional rivals Pakistan.

Even as Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid look to finalise their playing eleven on the eve of the high-voltage face-off, the duo would all be keenly following weather updates in Melbourne.

With rain being forecast ahead of and during the match this could well play a huge role in deciding the playing combinations.

But Team India skipper Rohit Sharma declared the team was ready for any eventuality – a full game or a curtailed one.

While the rain clouds have eased up per the weather forecast for the day which says "low chance of precipitation" the option of fielding two specialist spinners look a tad dim for the Indian team management.

The face-off with Pakistan is usually about Indian batting versus Pakistan's bowling and thus beefing up the batting seems the most likely option.

Pakistan will go into the match confident of taming India given its bowling riches and its settled batting lineup.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground with its long boundaries will need strong and quick legs – singles and doubles would be key. The last two times the teams met at the Asia Cup a month ago were tactical battles and matches were narrowly won.

India won the first match with two balls to spare and Pakistan the second with one ball remaining.

However, both teams play contrasting styles of cricket in this format. India is now looking to bat more aggressively at the top and thus wickets in hands become a necessity.

With the return of the fiery speedster, Shaheen Shah Afridi whose burst with the new ball will be the key for both teams India will look to bolster its batting.

Therefore with the top 4 batters claiming their spots- KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, it remains to be seen whether messers Sharma and Dravid opt for an extra batter in Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant both or just go with either one of them.

In case it's just one of the two then all-rounder Deepak Hooda looks likely inclusion with Hardik Pandya marshalling the middle order and chief all-rounder cum finisher's responsibility.

Leg spinner Axar Patel could well be the chief contender in the playing eleven ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Hooda could also share bowling responsibility with Pandya though the latter is looking sharp with the ball too.

On the other hand, Pakistan has 5 fast bowling options to choose from the embarrassment of riches indeed, who will skipper Babar Azam go for other than Afridi and Haris Rauf the bigger danger man for Team India, remains to be seen.

Starting on a winning note is key for any team's progress in the T20 WC as any initial loss could return to hurt a team big time in later stages.

Thus the pressure of not losing to Pakistan in a WC match and starting on a winning note is mighty on skipper Sharma and Company.

Also, India's record of never losing to Pakistan in any World Cup stood erased when it ended up on the losing side in the last T20 WC held in UAE in 2021.