David Warner

Pandya played a stellar role both with the ball and the bat in the sensational four-wicket victory as India came roaring back from a disastrous start when chasing Pakistan's 159 for eight and won in a dramatic last over from left arm spinner Mohammed Nawaz.

Stoinis' scintillating knock (59 not out from 18) -- the fastest T20I fifty by an Australia batter off 17 balls -- powered Australia to a morale-lifting seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Super 12 match at Perth Stadium. During his knock, Stoinis struck some big sixes off the Sri Lankan spinners and admitted that playing in the IPL helped him neutralise Sri Lanka's spin threat.

From the current T20 World Cup squad, 11 players will remain in Australia when the series gets underway at the Adelaide Oval on November 17. Seam bowler Olly Stone, who will join Nottinghamshire from November 1, will be looking to add to his four ODI caps, having last played for England in this format in October 2018 against Sri Lanka.

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons will step down from his post in the wake of his side's debacle in the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. The two-time T20 world champions were eliminated in the preliminary stage following losses to Scotland and Ireland, with the only saving grace being a 31-run win against Zimbabwe.

India's clean slate of wins over Pakistan in T20 World Cups was shattered when Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan chased down 151/7 comfortably, after left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi's burst through the Indian top-order in 2021.

Lee said almost a year back, Australia were the underdogs, bereft of "form" and "struggling", but they won their maiden T20 World Cup title in the UAE in 2021, adding that with every player a match-winner, they could once again do it in front of the home crowd.

England are strong contenders for the T20 World Cup after their campaign was halted abruptly in the semifinal of the 2021 edition in the UAE by New Zealand. "England's strongest player is their captain, Jos Buttler, and he has a terrible record against Rashid Khan. If he turns over Jos (Buttler) early in the game, I think it's going to cause a big headache for England," Morgan was quoted as saying by ICC.

A clash between the two giant Asian cricket-playing countries at a World Cup venue arouses passion, not only on the field but also off it. Cricket fever engulfs the huge following of both the nations and winning is all that matters finally. The rivalry between players is only on the field as cricketers respect each other immensely. However, the match has that oomph factor in which mental strength plays an important factor for all the players involved.

In the lead-up to the India-Pakistan marquee clash in the ICC T20 World Cup at Melbourne on Sunday, we look at the battle between India batting great Sunil Gavaskar and Pakistan's inspirational all-rounder Imran Khan, which upped the excitement factor among the cricket fans.

Smith was a member of the squad that won the T20 World Cup last year but has struggled for form since then, losing out his spot to the likes of Cameron Green. He has struggled for runs in the three-match series in India and at home against England.