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Naseem bowls a wide that is also a no-ball. That means a free hit for Hardik Pandya, but he connects only with fresh air.
In the last three overs India have scored seven for two.
Dube ct and b Naseem 3 Naseem Shah is having a day out. He’s picked up his third wicket, taking a simple return catch to dismiss Shivam Dube. It was a tame shot from Dube, who never got going, and now it’s India who are in a bit of bother FOW: 95/5
Imad is still getting some sharp turn, which will interest Ravindra Jadeja in particular. His third over is another tight one, with only three singles and a leg-bye.
This game is beautifully poised. I reckon India are slightly ahead, but I wouldn’t put the farm on it.
Shivam Dube chases his first ball and is beaten. Pakistan have come alive; Haris retrieves the next delivery in his follow through and dummies to throw at the stumps.
Dube denies Haris a wicket maiden by forcing a single behind square.
Suryakumar c Amir b Haris 7 Another twist in this compelling game. Suryakumar Yadav spoons Haris Rauf straight to mid-off, where Amir takes the catch and slams the ball angrily into the ground. Pakistan needed that, big time. FOW: 89/4
Pant misses a slap across the line at Imad. Enough of the orthodox nonsense; he reverse sweeps the next ball over short third man for four, a shot played with extraordinary hand speed.
Pakistan urgently need a wicket here or the match will get away from them.
Vintage Rishabh Pant: audacious, with more than a healthy dollop of luck – but also some stunning strokes, which have put India slightly on top, at least based on how the Eisenhower Park pitch has played so far this tournament.
Pakistan have so many bowling options, perhaps too many. The latest, Haris Rauf, takes some hammer from Rishabh Pant. There are three fours in a row: a drive over mid-off followed by two flicks past short fine leg. One of those was played while he deliberately fell over to the off side, a shot we’ve seen from Pant before.
Hard to be sure in T20 cricket but it feels like India are in excellent position at the drinks break.
Another let-off for Pant! He slog-sweeps the new bowler Imad Wasim miles in the air, with the ball landing just short of the diving Usman Khan. He charged in from deep square leg, but the commentators are suggesting it might have been deep midwicket’s catch.
No matter. Imad’s first over is excellent, with some surprisingly sharp turn, and Pant has another escape when he mishits just short of long on. He’s riding his luck with abandon.
Suryakumar Yadav drives his second ball straight down the ground for four, a formidable statement of intent.
Axar b Naseem 20 Naseem Shah strikes again! Pakistan needed that because India were threatening to take control. Axar charged down the track, missed a hack across the line and was cleaned up. FOW: 58/3
A change of pace, with the offspinner Iftikhar replacing Shaheen. Pant tries to sweep a couple of deliveries and gets in a tangle, dragging one of them back into his box.
Axar turns a poor over for India into a decent one by driving the ball gracefully back over Iftikhar’s head for four. His promotion looks a very good decision.
Pant is dropped by Usman Khan! He sliced Amir high over point, and Usman couldn’t hold a difficult swirling chance as he ran back towards the boundary.
Amir is getting some swing and looks really dangerous. Pant edged boundaries either side of that chance – one through the hands of Iftikhar at slip, the second straight over his head.
That was a marvellous over from Amir – and it went for 12.
Axar toe-ends Shaheen wide of slip for his first boundary. If that was fortunate, the next shot was glorious, a dainty uppercut for six.
In all there are 14 runs from the over. Both teams are trying to force things a bit too much – understandable given the emotion of the game, but not the best approach on this pitch. “When it’s seaming,” says Waqar Younis on commentary, “you need to be more disciplined.”
Mohammad Amir replaces Naseem Shah and snakes three successive deliveries past Axar’s outside edge. He has an excellent record against left-handers so it’s no surprise Babar turned to him so early.
India need to stay calm and remember that 120-140 could be a competitive score.
Blimey, India have sent Axar Patel in at No4 to protect Suryakumar Yadav. That means they’ll have two left-handers at the crease.
The early signs are that the pitch is awkward rather than dangerous, with no uneven bounce yet. The outfield is also really slow, so discretion may be the better part of valour for India.
Ravi Shastri informs us that the roar to celebrate that wicket reached 122 decibels. For context, a jumbo jet taking off reaches about 180db. And Ravi himself went past 200db at the toss today.
For all the pitch talk, must say the curator has done a fine job to get this deck in order.
It’s early in the game but definitely different to the previous games. #PakvsUSA #T20WordCup
Rohit c Haris b Shaheen 13 A big wicket for Pakistan. Rohit tries to pick Shaheen up for six, as he did in the first over, but this time he picks out Haris Rauf at deep square leg. The commentators reckon that stopped in the pitch as well. Either way, India have lost their two openers inside three overs. FOW: 19/2
The new batter Rishabh Pant is beaten by a lovely delivery from Naseem Shah. It’s a mixed over – some good balls, but also a wide and a freebie that Rohit Sharma flicks round the corner for four.
Kohli c Usman b Naseem 4 Gone! Virat Kohli came into this tournament in pulsating form but he’s scored only five runs in two innings.
He drove his first ball sweetly for four but then clattered the third straight to Usman Khan at cover point. The ball was well wide of off stump and may have stopped in the pitch. Kohli had to reach a long way just to make contact and wasn’t able to control the stroke. FOW: 12/1
Naseem Shah picks up the HUGE wicket of Virat Kohli 😳 pic.twitter.com/TiGxFr9gHq
Naseem Shah will share the new ball; Virat Kohli awaits.
And it’s still 20 overs a side. Win win.
All very tedious, though am told we should still expect a match. Remember: the top score of the tournament in New York so far is Canada’s 137/7 against Ireland. Anything above that would put India in a fine position.
Urgh. After six balls, the rain returns and the umpires call the covers on as soon as possible. The commentators are hopeful that it’s a passing shower.
Update: it’s not a passing shower. It’s hooning down now, so they’ll be off for a while.
Shaheen’s third ball is in the slot and flipped effortlessly over square leg for six by Rohit, a classic pick-up stroke. As Steve Smith observes in the commentary box, that’s a pretty good way to take a slow outfield out of the equation.
The over ends with a huge shout for LBW that is turned down. I thought there were two noises, and Babar decides not to review. It might also have pitched outside leg.
Replays confirm an inside-edge onto the pad. Good, cold-minded captaincy from Babar because Shaheen was desperate to review.
The captains lead their teams on to the pitch for the anthems and pre-match formalities. The two players are the back, Rishabh Pant and Shaheen Shah Afridi, high five as they enter the field of play.
It’s taken longer than expected but the biggest game in world cricket is about to begin. It’s still a full 20-overs-a-side game, though that may change if there are any more rain breaks.
Shaheen Shah Afridi will open the bowling to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Let’s play!
Well that’s a pleasant surprise – the umpires have had a quick inspection and the match will start in just over 20 minutes’ time.
It was pelting down until a few minutes ago, apparently, and because this isn’t a regular cricket ground the drainage won’t be especially good. The safety of the outfield is going to be the main concern for the umpires.
I fear we could be facing another washout.
Uh oh 😟 Feeling very much for the fans in the open stands. For those in the UK, think of the Old Trafford party stand, and it’s like that almost everywhere except hospitality #t20USA #IndvPak pic.twitter.com/PszucXwwQe
If a result isn’t possible, Pakistan will be in big trouble and USA will qualify for the Super 8s if they win either of their last two group games against India and Ireland.
That USA v Ireland game on Friday could be epochal.
Eff eff ess. The covers are going back on, so the start could be pushed back again. We’ll keep you posted.
India are unchanged. Pakistan bring in the fit-again Imad Wasim to replace Azam Khan, who has been really struggling. Mohammad Rizwan will take the gloves. Pakistan’s batting looks really light, but they have a helluvan attack.
India Rohit (c), Kohli, Pant (wk), Suryakumar, Dube, Pandya, Jadeja, Axar, Bumrah, Siraj, Arshdeep.
Pakistan Babar (c), Rizwan (wk), Usman, Fakhar, Shadab, Iftikhar, Imad, Shaheen, Haris, Naseem, Amir.
Both captains smile broadly as Ravi Shastri announces the toss with operatic intensity. He is magnificent!
More importantly, Pakistan have won the toss and will bowl first. Rohit Sharma says he would have done the same.
Steve Smith, part of the ICC commentary team, says he would definitely bowl first. It’s overcast, there could be more rain and nobody is quite sure what the pitch will do.
Steve Smith:🗣️
– As a bowler target the 6-8 M length
– Lots of cracks in this wicket for bowlers to exploit
– As a batter: Hit into the wind, target the short boundary
– The outfield is slow, so if you hit to the long part of the ground, running 2 is on
– Win the toss and bowl… pic.twitter.com/7q1PS7X3Pm
The toss will be in 10 minutes’ time, and if there’s no further rain the game will begin at 4pm BST, or 11am local time. No overs have been lost yet.
Chris Gayle, the Bradman of T20, is at the game today and looking magnificent.
It has stopped raining in New York. Pakistan are in a huddle on the outfield, with first Gary Kirsten and then Babar Azam giving impassioned speeches. India are kicking a football around.
"It's always been a great competition between the two teams" 💪
Suryakumar Yadav ahead of India's clash with Pakistan 🔥 pic.twitter.com/A9zBDjSXqz
"We know we didn't play well" 👀
Shadab Khan discusses how Pakistan will react today after their shock defeat to USA pic.twitter.com/s56kBPjv8M
The rain is getting lighter, so hopefully the delay won’t be long, but the captains won’t be tossing up at 3pm as planned.
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It’s raining fairly heavily in New York – cats and dogs according to Wasim Akram – and those on the ground think we’ll probably have a delayed start.
I wonder how keen Pakistan are to get on the field. A washout would be a very handy result for them. But then beating India would send their confidence into the stratosphere.
(Edit: I got this completely wrong – a washout is no good to Pakistan unless the USA lose their last two games.)
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Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live, over-by-over coverage of the big one in New York. India v Pakistan is an occasion like no other – but the celebration of their rivalry tends to overshadow how one-sided the contest has become. India routinely beat Pakistan at World Cups – 13 wins, one defeat – and are strong favourites to do so again at the Nassau County Stadium.
You might even say that India v Pakistan has become the mismatch of the century. One of the reasons we keep coming back for more is that, with Pakistan, you never know when they might engage Cornered Tigers Mode. At their best they are irresistible, no matter the opposition. India will know this: both teams are likely to have five survivors from the Champions Trophy final of 2017, when an inspired Pakistan walloped India by 180 runs.
Pakistan’s shock defeat to the USA on Thursday has made this a vital game, close to must-win; if they lose they will be facing a shock elimination before the Super 8s stage. Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England know how they feel. The return of the canny allrounder Imad Wasim is good news, though there are only so many ills he can cure.
India started with a deceptively uncomfortable win over Ireland, when their batsmen took various blows on an uneven pitch. The ICC will be crossing their fingers that today’s surface plays more consistently, especially as both sides could include four fast bowlers.
The pitch is one of many variables that add intrigue to this game. Another is the weather: there’s a chance of light showers throughout the game.
The match is scheduled to start at 3.30pm BST, 10.30am in New York.
