Data is crucial in today’s T20 cricket, therefore the matches are a major topic of conversation among the coaching staffs of the best international teams. It will be crucial for Gautam Gambhir and Mike Hesson to focus on the matches based on the data that is now available, which won’t be much in terms of volume given the dearth of India-Pakistan competitions.
On Sunday, India and Pakistan will play a high-stakes match at the T20 World Cup in Colombo.
Here are five potential exciting games that, if the weather doesn’t ruin them, should be heart-pounding for the supporters:
Sahibzada Farhan vs Jasprit Bumrah: Farhan emerged victorious and became one of the few international batters to hit Bumrah for two sixes in a Twenty20 International the last time the two faced off in the Asia Cup. Farhan’s fame was so great that he made an advertisement in which he boasted about the sixes he smashed against the Indian pace spearhead in Dubai.
Bumrah did not bowl in the Powerplay against Namibia, but it will be intriguing to watch Gambhir’s strategy against Pakistan. According to the data, in three games, Farhan faced 34 balls and scored 51 runs without getting removed.
Babar Azam vs Kuldeep Yadav: Babar Azam has never faced Kuldeep Yadav in a Twenty20 International, but in three ODI matches, the left-arm wrist spinner got Babar out twice, and the highly regarded Pakistani right-hander scored just 28 runs in 52 deliveries.
Even in Asia Cup T20 matches when Babar was not in the starting lineup, Kuldeep’s record against Pakistan has been outstanding. In three Pakistani games, he claimed eight wickets, including four in the championship match. However, Gambhir must substitute Kuldeep for Arshdeep Singh in the playing XI if Kuldeep vs Babar is to take place.
Hardik Pandya vs Usman Tariq: Pandya is the most likely Indian batsman who has the best chance of shattering the enigma surrounding Usman Tariq’s stop and sling bowling action. Salman Ali Agha’s deployment of Tariq will be interesting to watch, and there is a good potential that a duel will occur in the middle overs between 7 and 16.
Pandya’s edge is his back-lift, steady core, and even for huge hits, he can create the same bat speed even if it’s a split second later. Tariq’s hesitation at the crease can disrupt a batter’s plan. Pandya merely moves when a ball is bowled and lacks a noticeable trigger.
Ishan Kishan vs Shaheen Shah Afridi: In peak form, Ishan Kishan’s range of strokes and the left-arm speedster’s tendency to bowl deliveries away from the southpaw allow him to truly launch into Shaheen Shah Afridi. If Shaheen can successfully use the short-ball technique against Kishan, who isn’t particularly tall, it would be great to watch. A tale in itself would be how Kishan responds to that.
Shivam Dube vs Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan: Shivam Dube has an outstanding record against spinners, particularly wrist spinners. Despite facing a variety of slow bowlers in 2025, the powerful, big-bodied left-hander has a strike of 193 or more in T20 cricket. In the just finished Twenty20 International series, Dube has been harsh on right-arm leg-spinners like Ish Sodhi. The two wrist spinners in Pakistan’s lineup, Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed, might receive preferential treatment.
