India vs Pakistan matches have always seen packed stadiums for the intense action. The Gujarat CM, Bhupendra Patel conducted a meeting with several high ranking police officers to provide additional security for the players. 

A few days ago, the Mumbai police received an anonymous email threat from an attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the bombing of the Motera stadium during the IND vs PAK game. The unidentified Centre also demanded INR 500 Crores and the release of the gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

Officer GS Malik on deploying extra forces at the Motera stadium for IND vs PAK

“Along with more than 7,000 police personnel, we will deploy nearly 4,000 home guards to secure the stadium and to maintain law and order in communally sensitive areas of the city during the match. In addition to these personnel, we will deploy three ‘hit teams’ and one anti-drone team of the NSG. Nine teams of our bomb detection and disposal squad will also be utilise,” said G S Malik.
Asia Cup 2023: India defeats Pakistan by 228 Runs; Virat Kohli scores 77th International century

“Apart from 13 companies of the state reserve police (SRP), we will deploy three companies of Rapid Action Force as part of our security setup. The RAF will keep a watch on communally sensitive areas of the city. To help people in case of a stampede, we have already prepared an evacuation plan and rehearsals are also going on at the stadium,” added Malik. 

“We have assessed such threats and made our deployment plan accordingly. Moreover, such an elaborate security arrangement is necessary when more than one lakh spectators are going to come to watch the match. We also took into account the fact that it will be a sensitive match and it can create communal disturbance,” concluded GS Malik. 

However, as per the Google weather, the maximum temperature today in Colombo is expected to be approximately 28 degrees, with 80% precipitation or chances of rain. Humidity is also appearing to be around 81% , with cloud conditions of mostly 99% which means the sun will lack visibility. 

India vs Pakistan to have a reserve day on 11 September

India’s Playing XI Squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Pakistan’s Playing XI Squad:

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.

On 10 September, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first considering the weather conditions and the dew factor, India’s captain Rohit Sharma during the toss said, “Looking to bat first. There will be a challenge upfront, but the way we guys batted last time around gives us confidence. Every game is important for us, but one thing at a time to focus on. (On rain delays) That’s the nature of the sport, it gave us good time to prepare and now we’ll look to play well. Two changes – Bumrah is back and one forced change, Shreyas Iyer just got a back spasm so KL Rahul comes in for him.” 

India’s opening batsmen Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma destroyed Pakistan’s bowling attack and put 61 on board by 10 overs. However, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill lost back to back wickets and scored 56 and 58 runs off 49, and 52 deliveries, respectively. The game will resume where it left off on 11th. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be at crease again on 8 and 17 runs with India’s score of 147-2 at the end of 24.1 overs. 

The match at Kandy was washed away due to heavy rains after the first innings, leading to the game being tied and both teams were awarded one point each. The Pakistan bowlers dismissed India’s batting order for 266 runs at the end of 48.5 overs.

Pakistan played their first game of the Super 4s stage against Bangladesh and sealed an easy victory to move up on the points table. At the same time, India is expected to play their first match of the Super 4s against Pakistan. 

“We shouldn’t say the Asia Cup is between India and Pakistan”, Rohit Sharma

Why reserve a day for India vs Pakistan? 

If the game on 10th September is abandoned due to rain. The first attempt will be to conclude the clash by reducing the number of overs but if there is no chance of saving the game on the same day, then the game will be shifted to the reserve day on 11 September. 

The PCB has advised the spectators to save the tickets to use the same on the reserve day if the game gets abandoned. The Indian vs Pakistan game will be the only match to have a reserve day in the Asia Cup and not even the final game as of now.  

“Not really (happy with the knock), some nerves to start with but once I got my eye in, I wanted to get the team home. That was not intentional (the flick-sweep), I wanted to chip it over short fine but the bats these days are so good. Luckily we got to bat in the first game and bowl in this, so that made it a complete game for us. Still have a lot to work on.

“A lot of guys coming back from injuries and they need time to get back into the groove. Hardik and Ishan were very good in the last game to get us to that score. The bowling was okay today but the fielding was bad, we need to improve on that,” Rohit Sharma  

“We shouldn’t say the Asia Cup is between India and Pakistan”, Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma on India’s World Cup Squad 

“When we came here, in the back of our mind we knew what our (World Cup) 15 would look like, except maybe one or two spots. The Asia Cup was not going to give us a better picture because it was only two games”, Rohit Sharma. 

Both India and Pakistan got one point each, as the match ended up being a draw. Pakistan made their place in the Super Fours after their victory against Nepal. Despite the conditions, both captains surprisingly wanted to bat first. 

India wins Hockey5s Asia Cup after beating Pakistan by 2-0 in Shootouts

India vs Pakistan match summary 

Rohit Sharma got going with a couple of boundaries off Shaheen Afridi’s bowling which was interrupted by the first batch of downpours. The tall left-arm speedster altered his length after being back in the field and quickly dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, Haris Rauf dismissed Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill which got India into a pressure situation and the score of 66/4 in just the 15th over. 

The Indian cricket team fought back with a fantastic 138-run partnership brought up by the team’s middle-order batsmen Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya. Both of them scored 82 and 87 respectively, but India once again slipped (losing their last 5 wickets for a mere 27 runs). Pakistan successfully dismissed the whole Indian squad by taking all 10 wickets, while India posted a competitive total of 266 runs. 

India scored two more goals in the second half to equal the game by the end of the regulation time by 4-4, which ultimately advanced the game towards the penalty shootouts. India’s Maninder Singh and Gurjot Singh struck goals in the penalty shootouts and the Indian goalkeeper saved the goals struck by Pakistan’s strikers Arshad Liaqat and Muhammad Murtaza. 

PM Narendra Modi congratulated India’s hockey team for their victory on his social media accounts, and said, “Champions at the Hockey5s Asia Cup!! Congratulations to the Indian Men’s Hockey Team on a phenomenal victory. It is a testament to the unwavering dedication of our players and with this win, we have also secured our spot at the Hockey5s World Cup in Oman next year. The grit and determination of our players continue to inspire our nation.” 

The Indian Hockey Team lifts the title of Asian Champions Trophy for the fourth time

Prize Money announced for the Indian Hockey Team 

After the team’s victory, The Hockey India President and Padma Shri Dr Dilip Tirkey announced a prize money of two lakh for each player, and one lakh each for the sports staff. “Champions of Asia! Congratulations to our incredible Indian Men’s Hockey Team on winning the Men’s Hockey5s Asia Cup 2023 title by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan. We’re proud to announce that Hockey India will be awarding Rs 2 lakhs to each player and Rs 1 lakh to every member of the support staff for their outstanding efforts”, said Dilip Tirkey on his social media account. 

India’s Playing XI against Pakistan 

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

Pakistan’s Playing XI against India 

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

ICC ODI World Cup 2023 Tickets to go LIVE on 25 August 2023; Checkout how to buy the tickets

IND vs PAK Pitch Report 

A high quality and unique pitch. Fast bowlers can get some seam, the spinners will get some turn, and a good batter can also score a century on this wicket. With DLS in picture, the captain winning the toss might prefer to bowl first. But Batting will be an adequate option for the team, which will look for the dew factor in the later overs. 

IND vs PAK Weather Report 

As predicted by Google Weather, there is a 65% chance of rain before the time of the toss and it will decrease around just 20% to 23% in the first innings of the match in Pallekele. Mostly Cloudy conditions are expected. 

“We are going to bat first. There is a bit of weather around, but can’t think much about it. Got to play good cricket, you need to embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had some time off after the West Indies series. Everyone was up for those drills and challenges in Bangalore. Let’s see what we can achieve in this tournament. It’s a quality tournament with quality oppositions. At the end of the day we need to see what we can achieve as a team. Iyer is back, Bumrah is back and we got three seamers. Got two spinners – Kuldeep and Jadeja”, Rohit Sharma at the Toss. 

The Indian hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice to lead the team towards the big tree while the other two goals were scored from penalty corners. 

After the final match of the pool stage, both the teams had contrasting opinions. While the Indian hockey team were elated, the Pakistan hockey team coach claimed that the umpiring decisions were biased and the umpires missed giving Pakistan a deserving goal.

Craig Fulton on the Indian hockey team’s victory

“That’s what we have video referrals for — it [the first Pakistan goal that was disallowed] came off the body but some goals umpires cannot disallow. They played well, we defended well and we got the goals that counted at the right time. We had a game plan and we were structured. The objective was to score early and we did it and then it was really difficult for them — the more they pushed up, the more we dictated the game… it was a fair result,” said Craig Fulton. 

Asked about Saqlain claiming that India did not have a structure and played only on penalty corners and fitness, captain Harmanpreet Singh was poker-faced. “If we are winning without having any structure, then it’s a good lesson from them, we will keep it in mind and improve our structure even more and perform better,” he added.

About his own role, he was more modest. “It’s my responsibility [to convert PCs] and you have the right to ask questions. It’s not just about me, everyone’s efforts are involved — the forwards create chances, then there is the pusher and the stopper and then the flicker comes into the picture. And our team effort was good. You want to keep doing your best, whether it comes off or not. During matches also mistakes happen but you need to forget them and move forward,” he concluded.

The most anticipated mega clash of the tournament between archrivals India and Pakistan was previously scheduled on 15 October 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium (popularly known as Motera Stadium) in Ahmedabad.

As per reports, the security forces have advised the BCCI and ICC to pre-pone the game on 14 October due to Navratri, an Indian festival which is largely celebrated across the country and majorly in Gujarat.

READ MORE WC 2023: Pakistan Sends Security Official to Inspect Indian Venues Ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

“We are mulling the options that we have and a decision will be taken soon”- BCCI Source

As the tickets for the game have not been released the BCCI and ICC have a right to change the venue. A close source to the BCCI recently got into a conversation with The Indian Express and confirmed the developments regarding the decision.

“We are mulling the options that we have and a decision will be taken soon. We have been told by the security agencies that a high-profile game like India vs Pakistan, for which thousands of travelling fans are expected to reach Ahmedabad, should be avoided since they will be stretched because of Navratri,” said an unidentified BCCI source.

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However, deciding the rescheduling of the match will be quite devastating for the fans who have months in advance booked the hotel rooms and tickets for the game. As witnessed earlier, the flight ticket prices and hotel room tariffs in Ahmedabad had gone up 4X times, as they had been previously booked.

The 50-over matches will begin at 1 PM (Pakistan Standard Time) and 1:30 for Sri Lanka and Indian Standard Time at 4 Venues, 2 in Pakistan (Multan and Lahore) and 2 in Sri Lanka (Kandy and Colombo).

The 16th edition of the Asia Cup will comprise six teams who will compete against each other in two stages of the continental tournament. The championship will comprise 13 matches played in a hybrid model. The top 2 teams finishing in both Pools will advance to the Super 4 Stage, and the top two winners will advance to the final match of Asia Cup 2023.

Asia Cup 2023: India vs Pakistan to lock horns on 2 September

Group A
India
Pakistan
Nepal

Group B
Sri Lanka
Afghanistan
Bangladesh

Check out the full schedule of the Asia Cup 2023

https://twitter.com/JayShah/status/1681658142633910279

GROUP STAGE

August 30, Wednesday: Pakistan vs Nepal, Multan, Pakistan
August 31, Thursday: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Kandy, Sri Lanka
September 2, Saturday: India vs Pakistan, Kandy, Sri Lanka
September 3, Sunday: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Lahore, Pakistan
September 4, Monday: India vs Nepal, Kandy, Sri Lanka
September 5, Tuesday: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, Lahore, Pakistan

Super 4s stage:

September 6, Wednesday : A1 vs B2, Lahore, Pakistan
September 9, Saturday : B1 vs B2, Colombo, Sri Lanka
September 10, Sunday : A1 vs A2, Colombo, Sri Lanka
September 12, Tuesday : A2 vs B1, Colombo, Sri Lanka
September 14, Thursday : A1 vs B1, Colombo, Sri Lanka
September 15, Friday : A2 vs B2, Colombo, Sri Lanka
September 17, Sunday: Final, Colombo, Sri Lanka