Sound bowling options give Pakistan edge

A fabled rivalry was renewed after a five-year hiatus with a cracking match in Bangalore. The track wasn't the usual Twenty20 bowler-killing slab, having enough spice to interest the quicks. There were collapses, fightbacks and some heated moments, before Shoaib Malik enhanced his reputation for raising his game against India with a half-century that was topped off by a match-winning six in the final over. Ahmedabad fans will hope for similar thrills, but a different result, on Friday.

The IPL is regularly put forth as one of the reasons for India's Test decline. While that argument has divided opinion, the IPL doesn't seem to have done much to improve India's Twenty20 performances either. Their previous three World Twenty20 campaigns have been lacklustre, and while the batting is more or less settled, no bowler has yet nailed yet his place in the XI. The one spinner who had done that , R Ashwin, was surprisingly left out of the first T20, a move that Mohammad Hafeez suggested helped Pakistan.

In contrast, Pakistan have a plethora of bowling options, with Hafeez playing as a genuine allrounder, and Malik and Shahid Afridi able to contribute with both bat and ball. They also have two of the most successful T20 bowlers in Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, who combined to trigger India's astonishing late-innings slide in Bangalore. The home side's batting needs to find a way to negotiate them, if they are to stand a serious chance of levelling the series.

Form guide

India LLWWW (Completed games, most recent first)
Pakistan WLWLW