India vs Pakistan T20 LIVE: Heartbreak for Team Kohli in Dubai? This cricket legend predicts end of Men in Blue’s winning streak

• West Indies batting great Brian Lara said it was India’s tournament 'to lose' ahead of the Men in Blue’s ICC T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan. It is India’s World Cup to lose, Lara said, adding that he saw them in the knockout stages and was up to them how they progressed from there.

While Virat Kohli has yet not announced his 'Playing XI', there are speculations around Varun Chakravarthy. The mystery spinner may get a golden chance today. 

Important baat @babarazam258 : Sab se pehle, Aap nay ghabrana nahi hai :)

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) October 24, 2021

• 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.

• 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%.

• Former India batsman Manoj Tiwary is confident that India’s overall strength would be enough to secure victory against Pakistan. Speaking to Asian News International, Tiwary said India had a good record against Pakistan, the batting is good and Bumrah’s bowling has also improved.
• The former Kolkata Knight Riders batter feels the Pakistan side was bit stronger this time, but is hopeful that India would come out victorious.

• Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has written off his country’s chances of victory and believes Babar Azam’s team can secure a win only if India made mistakes on the field.
• No matter how well Pakistan play, if India don’t make mistakes, it will be difficult for Pakistan to win, Latif told The Khaleej Times.
• The former wicketkeeper said when he captained Pakistan, he always tried to induce mistakes from the opposition. He added one had to do their job first, but it was also important to make the opposition commit errors.
• The 52-year-old said India captain Virat Kohli could be prone to making mistakes due to the plethora of options available to him. What Kohli does if he wins the toss and the playing XI he picks could determine the match’s outcome, Latif said.

• Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has urged fans to treat the encounter as a cricket match and advised them to avoid politics, arrogance, and hate.
• The hero of the 2002 Natwest Trophy final called on the fans to celebrate their team’s win and not revel in the defeat of their rivals. He urged them to treat it as a game, not war.

• Legendary India batter VVS Laxman has picked Surya Kumar Yadav in his playing XI for the match against Pakistan. Wishing Team India the best for their first match of the ICC T20 World Cup on Twitter, the stylish right-hander also named his preferred options for the match. Laxman has picked Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul as his openers with skipper Virat Kohli at Number 3. He has also named Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja in his playing XI, while also Hardik Pandya, whose participation as a bowler is in doubt because of injury, has also found a place. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah round off the Indian pace battery with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarty also making the cut.
• But the surprise selection was that of Yadav, who failed to perform for the Mumbai Indians during the IPL in the United Arab Emirates. Yadav’s selection means Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, both of whom had a statistically better IPL season, miss out from Laxman’s XI. If Team India also goes with Laxman’s left-field choice, it will surely come as a surprise to the opposition and pundits alike.