As good as it gets at the Cricket World Cup: India vs Pakistan before 1 lakh plus spectators

Leading up to this highly anticipated match 12 of this tournament, India and Pakistan have won both their first two games.

India defeated five-time champion Australia by six wickets in Chennai, and then Afghanistan by eight wickets in Delhi. It was a dominant batting display — headlined by skipper Rohit Sharma’s seventh World Cup century — as the hosts won with 15 overs to spare.

Pakistan played both its opening fixtures in Hyderabad — beating the Netherlands in the first game by 81 runs and Sri Lanka by six wickets, thanks to a record batting chase under lights.

Spectator attendance has been a big talking point across this tournament, with half-empty stands being an obvious eyesore. Saturday won’t have that problem — the Narendra Modi Stadium is expected to attract a crowd of more than 100,000.

From an Indian perspective, expectations will reach a crescendo and Sharma’s team is well aware of the task ahead. He will join Mohammed Azharuddin and MS Dhoni as the only two captains to lead India in a World Cup game against Pakistan on home soil.

Under Azharuddin, India beat Pakistan in a sensational 1996 clash by 39 runs at Bangalore. Dhoni’s side beat Pakistan in a thrilling semifinal at Mohali by 29 runs in 2011. In comparison, this is only a round-robin game, yet the stakes couldn’t be higher.

“I will be playing my first ODI at home ground, which really excites me,” said Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah, looking ahead to the marquee clash. “The atmosphere is going to be exciting — there are a lot of people expected to come in. It is going to be a sight to see. We are hoping to play our best there."

Opener Shubman Gill, who missed the Australia and Afghanistan games because of dengue fever, has re-joined the team in Ahmedabad. Gill is expected to miss the Pakistan game as well, with Ishan Kishan to continue to open the batting with Sharma.

Kishan and Sharma recovered from their ducks against Australia to put on a scintillating 156-run partnership off 112 balls against Afghanistan.

India will also toy with the idea of bringing back off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for Saturday’s game. Bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur had played against Afghanistan instead, but the Ahmedabad pitch will be on the slower side in comparison with Delhi’s batting beauty. It again makes a case for Ashwin, who returned 1-34 in 10 overs against Australia at Chennai.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s batting change against Sri Lanka worked wonders, with Abdullah Shafique scoring a fine hundred on World Cup debut. It consigns out-of-form Fakhar Zaman to the bench at least in the short term, while also adds strength to the batting lineup that is so dependent on captain Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan.

While Rizwan’s century won the day against Sri Lanka, Azam has yet to fire in this World Cup. He scored five and 10 in the first two games, having faced 33 balls in total. Azam also has an ordinary record against India — in seven ODIs, he has only managed 168 runs at average 28, without crossing 50 even once.

"Going to Ahmedabad, we have momentum from these two wins (against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka),” said Rizwan, after his match-winning 131 in the second game. “We have plans against India. They will also have plans against us. It should be exciting.”