Watch: Rohit Sharma training at the MCG nets ahead of Pakistan fixture

India, the inaugural T20 World Cup champions, will kickstart their 2022 campaign with a Group 2 Super 12s clash against Pakistan, the 2009 winners, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

The match carries great significance for the two teams in a group that also features South Africa alongside Bangladesh and the Netherlands, with one more team to join from the opening round. India enjoyed a 100% win-record over Pakistan in all World Cup face-offs – ODIs and T20Is – until last year, with Pakistan registering an emphatic 10-wicket win in a T20 World Cup clash in Dubai last year to end the drought.

Ahead of the all-important game, India skipper Rohit Sharma was seen training hard at the MCG nets, while showcasing his full range. A noteworthy observation was that of the right-hander practising against the inswinging yorker, a ball that has brought about his downfall at times in the past. Rohit was undone by full, inswinging ball from Shaheen Afridi to be trapped leg-before for a first-ball duck, when the two sides had faced off in last year’s edition. He’s now preparing himself to counter that and everything else he expects to be up against on Sunday.

Watch: Rohit Sharma training at the MCG nets ahead of Pakistan fixture

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Interestingly, Rohit is the only player in the current setup, who had featured in the victorious 2007 final against Pakistan in Johannesburg, wherein he had scored a valuable 30* off 16 in a thrilling five-run win.

India head into the competition after having defeated Australia and South Africa at home, while Pakistan registered a tri-nation series win in New Zealand, defeating the hosts in the final last week. India won their first warm-up fixture against Australia by six runs, and Pakistan went down to England by six wickets. The second warm-up games for both teams – against New Zealand and Afghanistan respectively – ended in no-result due to persistent rains in Brisbane.

Weather remains a major point of focus for the upcoming clash too, with rain being forecasted in Melbourne on Sunday.