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India and Pakistan will clash in the Twenty20 World Cup in Colombo on Sunday, still feeling the aftershocks of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan\u2019s boycott threat \u2013 later reversed \u2013 nearly blew a hole in the tournament\u2019s marquee fixture.<\/strong><\/p>\n With bilateral cricket a casualty of their fraught relations, emotions run high whenever the bitter neighbours lock horns in multi-team events at neutral venues.<\/p>\n India\u2019s strained relations with another neighbour, Bangladesh, have further tangled the geopolitics around the World Cup.<\/p>\n When Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team field for refusing to tour India over safety concerns, the regional chessboard shifted.<\/p>\n Pakistan decided to boycott the Group A contest against India in solidarity with Bangladesh, jeopardising a lucrative fixture that sits at the intersection of sport, commerce, and geopolitics.<\/p>\n Faced with the prospect of losing millions of dollars in evaporating advertising revenue, the broadcasters panicked. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) held hectic behind-the-scenes parleys and eventually brokered a compromise to salvage the tournament\u2019s most sought-after contest.<\/p>\n Strictly on cricketing merit, however, the rivalry has been one-sided.<\/p>\n Defending champions India have a 7-1 record against Pakistan in the tournament\u2019s history and they underlined that dominance at last year\u2019s Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n India beat Pakistan three times in that single event, including a stormy final marred by provocative gestures and snubbed handshakes.<\/p>\n Former India captain Rohit Sharma does not believe in the \u201cfavourites\u201d tag, especially when the arch-rivals clash.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a funny game,\u201d Rohit, who led India to the title in the T20 World Cup two years ago, recently said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t just go and think that it\u2019s a two-point victory for us. You just have to play good cricket on that particular day to achieve those points.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n India\u2019s edge<\/p>\n Both teams have opened their World Cup campaigns with back-to-back wins, yet India still appear to hold a clear edge.<\/p>\n Opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently top the batting and bowling rankings respectively.<\/p>\n Abhishek is doubtful for the Pakistan match though as he continues to recover from a stomach infection that kept him out of their first two matches.<\/p>\n Ishan Kishan has reinvented himself as a top-order linchpin, skipper Suryakumar Yadav has regained form, while Rinku Singh has settled into the finisher\u2019s role in India\u2019s explosive lineup.<\/p>\n Mystery spinner Chakravarthy and the ever-crafty Jasprit Bumrah anchor the spin and pace units, while Hardik Pandya\u2019s all-round spark is pivotal.<\/p>\n For Pakistan, opener Sahibzada Farhan has looked in fine form but Babar Azam\u2019s strike rate continues to polarise opinion.<\/p>\n Captain Salman Agha will bank on spin-bowling all-rounder Saim Ayub, but the potential trump card is off-spinner Usman Tariq, whose slinging, side-arm action has intrigued opponents and fans alike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n