ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK: Hues of blue against green light up Motera!

India fans cheer before the start of the 2023 ICC Men`s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between India and Pakistan (Pic: AFP)

Ahead of the high-octane India vs Pakistan clash in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023, a 'sea of Blue' was visible outside the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, ready to cheer for Men in Blue during the match.

The Men in Blue will be keen to extend their seven-match winning streak against Pakistan while the latter will be looking to end their World Cup drought against Team India.

Fans were seen queuing outside the stadium right from the early hours of the morning. Several of them were sporting the trademark Blue Indian cricket team jerseys and carrying the national tricolour in hand, shouting "India" "India" at the top of their lungs.

A fan named Rekha told ANI, "We are all excited. I think Rohit and Virat will do really well today. We are the 12th man cheering for India!."

Another fan named Vansh said, "It cannot get anything bigger and better than this! We will not spare them; the streak will continue. Zero is the number that will not change for Pakistan!."

A fan named Abhishek said, "I came from Mumbai for this match with friends. I could not sleep last night. India will match the win easily."

Another fan named Khusboo said, "We are coming from Nagpur to watch the match. The hero for today will be Virat Kohli because Pakistan has not found anything to beat him. He is always special."

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This match comes after India's two matches against the arch-rivals during a winning Asia Cup campaign. One match, held in the group stage was abandoned due to rain while India registered a thumping win in the next clash during the Super Four stage.

India began their World Cup campaign with victories over Australia and Afghanistan, while Pakistan has two victories in two matches to build momentum ahead of the major encounter.

Fans will be hoping that megastars of Men in Blue, such as Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj keep up with their consistent performances to continue the country's winning streak with Pakistan in 50-over World Cups and come out with 8-0 win record against their arch-rivals in the World Cup.

India has dominated the head-to-head record in ODI World Cup matches with 'Men in Blue' winning all seven games against the arch-rival, boasting a 100 per cent win record till now.

Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf

(With inputs from agencies)