Melbourne: Indian captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged the rain threat looming over the clash against Pakistan on October 23 and said the team is ready for a curtailed encounter as these things cannot be controlled.

“We have to be prepared for whatever comes our way. These things are not in our hands. We will come thinking that it is a 40-over match and if not then we are ready for even a 20-over match,” said Rohit Sharma on the possibility of having a rain-curtailed encounter.
He also stated the Pakistani team got the better of India in the 2021 T20 World Cup because they played better and the Men in Blue defeated the side in the 2022 Asia Cup while the Pakistani side pipped his team in the second match of the same event.

“We obviously had a good run. We wanted to address all the problems. Having played 35 T20 games. Coming into the world cup we have addressed all these issues. Coming into World Cup we think we can achieve what we want to.”

“Pakistan outplayed us in the 2021 World Cup because they played better and in Asia Cup they beat us and we beat them in a match before. Luckily we played them twice in Asia Cup to gauge them,” said the star batter.

The Indian opener also talked about Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in the squad Mohammad Shami before the important clash citing the experience of Shami as a crucial reason for adding him to the squad.

“Shami has so much experience. When Bumrah was injured we wanted to have someone experienced. We know he is very good with the new ball. We wanted to give him an old ball and throw a challenge at him. He is very much ready,” stated Rohit about the pace bowler.

That is something we prepare for going on tours. Be it South Africa New Zealand, or Australia. Before the World Cup, we wanted to go there early. We know how important it is for World Cup. Just to get used to the conditions. We stayed in Perth for nine days and played two practice matches in Brisbane,” shared the Indian opener on the team flying to Perth before the commencement of the marquee event.

The threat of rain looms over the blockbuster ICC T20 World Cup 2022 clash between India and Pakistan in Melbourne which will take place on Sunday.

Though fans are hyped up for this match and are waiting for it anxiously, rain gods could play spoilsport.

From Friday onwards, there is a heavy likelihood of showers till October 25 onwards.

For October 23, the day of this match, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has predicted the weather to be, “Cloudy. Very high (95 per cent) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds southerly 15 to 25 km/h turning southeasterly during the evening.”

There is a possibility that 4 to 10 mm of rainfall takes place on Sunday.

The match will be broadcast in India at 1:30 PM, which translates to around 7 PM in Melbourne.