Shadow-Shell: “Is it the usual 1 hour extra time for rain delay to complete a full match or is it different for World Cups” There’s an extra 90 minutes beyond the usual cut-off times for this game. So they’ll try and get a full 40 overs in. There is, just to be clear, no reserve day
BalaBlazer: “Can they allow impact players just for this game? @yuvi and @shahidafridi can join the clash which will make it even more interesting. ” Could not imagine a less interesting thing to do
Anant: “Looking forward to the creativity of the ICC in terms of scheduling a reserve game”
It’s stopped raining, and the umpires are coming out for an inspection. We will now start at 11.20am local time
Absolutely pouring now, and the start has been delayed
10.41am: It’s raining once more
Prashant Vats: “A big toss win for Pakistan. Considering their bowling line up and their never ending habit of ever giving up after loosing to a minnows in a tournament – They are all set to start their tournament with a win over arch rivals!” A lot of you seem to reckon that was a colossal toss to win.
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Siraj
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir
“We’ve played a few games here, we’ve tried to assess the conditions as much as possible,” Rohit says. “Every game is important. Anything can happen, this is a very funny tournament.” India are unchanged
Pakistan have won the toss and will field first “The past is the past, and we’re looking forward to this match,” says Babar Azam Imad Wasim in for Azam Khan the only Pakistan change
10.23am Fairly even square boundaries today: 66m on one side and 70m on the other. The wind speed right now is 23kph – not sure what direction it’s blowing in. A network of cracks and large plates all over the pitch, with a good amount of grass cover too. Don’t expect big totals today.
Tabs: “@james: let’s just say that the translation for “Morbo” is weight and baggage of old history”
iPartha: “@James – morbo started on Friday – SL vs Ban has a certain morbo 😉 “
10.17am We have news, and it’s great news. We’ll have a toss at 10.30am, and the match will begin at 11am.
James : “There’s a Spanish word, morbo, which has no exact English equivalent. It means history, added interest (for example, Real Madrid vs Barcelona has morbo). There are 2 cricket match ups which, to my mind, have morbo. One is England vs Australia which we had yesterday. The other, particularly because it’s only played at world cups, is India vs Pakistan. A weekend of treats!”
10.14am The inspection is on as we speak. The covers are coming off the square.
10.07am Chris Gayle is in New York. Wearing a white jacket that the India players autograph. Just spotted Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar too.
Aftab: “Chris Gayle’s jacket has Indian colors on right arm and Pakistani colors on left, in case you missed. True legend. This jacket deserves a place in Cricket museum.”
10.03am There’s an inspection at 10.15am local time
Taz: “I live 10 minutes away from the stadium and I can hear the noise from my porch even though the match hasn’t started yet. Insane!!”
Nikhil : “Cricket world cup, rivalry game, tricky pitch and rain delay, this game has to be a psychological nightmare for the players.”
Shabbir: “What’re the chances of Saim Ayub playing together? He was terrific in the CPL last year but hasn’t fired in T20Is yet” Pak have kept team news close to their chest. I suspect he’ll miss out today, though
Alosh K Jose: “Got to say, the weather in Paris is perfect for cricket… ” They had their fair share of rain in the first week, to be fair
ashish: “@Danyal – you mentioned with some luck the rain might miss the stadium. Looks like you jinxed it right there and the rain decided to take center stage over the stadium.” Let’s see what else I end up jinxing
9.55am The rain has stopped and the umpires are coming out for an inspection
9.50am The toss has been delayed due to rain. Which, apparently has got lighter, and the Pak players are out training.
Vishwajit Rade : “I’m watching French open final and following Cricinfo !!” You and me both
Meanwhile, if watching another Indian team take on an old foe catches your fancy, the men’s hockey team are in action against Great Britain in the FIH Pro League. Follow along for live updates.
9.40am The whole square is covered as the rain gets heavier.. The spectators in the stands don’t have cover.
Diyath: “Um How’s the drainage at this ground? I’m not feeling particularly confident given all the other debacles” Apparently not the best, but we might find out today
varun: “I love the commentary but can you make it audible as well? Would be more interesting and user friendly while doing activities such as driving etc.” I’d have to shout fairly loudly for you to hear me
9.27am The drizzle is getting slightly more steady now
9.20am Update from Monga at the ground. It’s drizzling very, very mildly now.
Fiazleghari.72@: “Hi @Danyal! Have been anxiously refreshing the page for last half an hour or so to check if the coverage has started for this “low-key” contest of the tournament :). First tell us what everybody here wants to know: Which pitch are they going to use (pitch no. 2 or no. 4)” They’ll use the strip they used for yesterday’s game, the low-scoring thriller that saw South Africa beat the Netherlands.
Vishal: “How’s the weather at the ground? It’s raining currently a couple hours away in NJ.” It’s not raining right now, though it is overcast. Think there’s a bit of rain expected, though with some luck it might miss the stadium
Have a read of our preview, where George Binoy talks about Pakistan’s predicament, and this piece about Pakistan’s squad woes from yours truly. Sid Monga, meanwhile, is in New York, who tells us why this hasn’t quite captivated the host city as some might have hoped
9am: We begin once more? Has there been a less fancied team in this rivalry in T20I history than Pakistan are against India today? Will that free them up, or does it motivate India to put the 2022 finalists on the verge of elimination in about five hours time? Join us as we begin coverage of these inevitably captivating match-up.
