AGENCIES

In ICC World Cup Cricket, India will meet arch-rivals Pakistan at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad today. The match will begin at 2 p.m. India and Pakistan have four points each from two matches played so far.

Today, at the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium, Pakistan will look to end what is perhaps the most talked about jinx in cricket World Cup history. India have beaten Pakistan in all the previous seven World Cup games and will begin this one as hot favourites.

As Rohit Sharma’s India captain boasted on Friday, the hosts haven’t just covered all their bases but also have the momentum with them.

In the lead-up to the World Cup, India won a home series against Australia and then comfortably regained the Asia Cup, thrashing Pakistan by 228 runs in the process. In their first two games of the ongoing World Cup, the Indians comprehensively defeated Australia and Afghanistan.

“The bowlers have shown very good performances. Whether it is spinners or seamers, whenever they have a chance to put pressure on the batsmen, they have done so. All the batsmen have scored runs,” Rohit told reporters in Ahmedabad.

Another good news for India is that prolific batter Shubman Gill, who missed the first two games due to dengue, has also recovered and is available for selection.

Earlier, New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai yesterday. Chasing 246 runs for a win, New Zealand made 248 runs with 7.1 overs to spare. Put in to bat, Bangladesh made 245 runs losing nine wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. 

New Zealand have won all the three matches played so far and Bangladesh one from three matches.

Gujarat DGP instructs various District Police Heads to be on alert mode

In view of the high-voltage match between India and Pakistan today, Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahay has instructed the various District Police Heads across the State to be on alert mode to avoid any untoward incident during and after the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match. More than 6,000 personnel of the Gujarat police force along with those of the National Security Guard (NSG), Rapid Action Force (RAF), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), among others, will be deployed in sensitive parts of Ahmedabad city and at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera area during the match.