After two solid win in Kitply Cup, Indian team are now full of confidence to face the music against the arch-rivals Pakistan. Two big victories in the league matches put Man in Blue a favourite contenders for today’s game against Pakistan. Dhoni teams so far performed exceptionally well both with bat and bowl since they arrived in Dhaka. The top order has scored runs by tons and the bowlers have given early breakthroughs in both the matches. And Dhoni will have to guard against any complacency come Saturday. The much awaited clash between two team is expected to provide a thriller but it all depends on how Pakistanis approach this game after their big defeat in the league against India. Pitch Report The Final of Kitply cup will be played on the same surface which was used in the game against these two teams when they last played. So pitch at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur will be full of runs with some help for the spinners. As the game progresses it will get slower and lower so captain winning the toss would like to bat first. Stats and trivia So far these two teams have played seven times in the final and Pakistan has won five out of six encounters. When the last time these two teams played the final in Bangladesh featuring Pakistan and India had a thrilling conclusion with Hrishikesh Kanitkar slamming a boundary to clinch it off the penultimate ball. Player to Watch Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir: Both Indian openers are in prime form and we have already witnessed what both can do to the opposition. So far both has given a sparkling start to the Indians in this tournament and both will be looking to repeat the performance of last two matches for the big final. P.Kumar and P.Chawla: Both U.P lads has performed exceptionally well in their last two outings in the tournament with the bowl and it will be no surprise if both repeat their past performance in today’s game. Team News Pakistan team is likely to stick with same XI since they don’t have much option to choose from on the other hand Indian captain M.S. Dhoni will face a lot of headache when he and team management sit to pick final XI for the big Final. Since players like R.P.Singh performed well in the last match if team management thinks of playing him then in that case I.Pathan or Ishant Sharma may miss the chance of playing in today’s big final against arch-rivals. Likely Playing XI for both the teams (Match will start from 14:30 PM India time) India: V.Sehwag, G.Gambhir, R.Sharma, Y.Singh, M.S.Dhoni (Captain), S.Raina, Y.Pathan, I.Pathan, P.Kumar, P.Chawla, R.P.Singh. Pakistan: Kamran Akmal (WK), S. Butt, Younis Khan, Md. Yusuf, Misbah-Ul-Haq, S. Mallik (Captain), S.Afridi, I.Anjumum, U.Gul, S.Tanveer, Wahab Riaz. |
