Sanju Samson played a rather slow-paced innings compared to the otherwise explosive style of batting he is known for during India's last Asia Cup group stage fixture against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday. He anchored the innings, staying in the middle for almost 16 overs and running away with the Man of the Match award for the 45-ball 56.
Sanju's sweaty innings was an eye-opener for many regarding the tiring UAE heat that players are exposed to during the tournament. Rinku Singh was seen trying to cool down Sanju's body with a wet towel during the breaks and he was visibly tired despite carrying on. After getting to see what a marathon innings under the humid UAE sun can do to even the best, many more have started to discuss how the weather can influence the outcome of closely-fought contests. As India prepares to take on Pakistan in their first Super Four outing on Sunday, here is what you need to know about the weather and pitch in Dubai where the two great Asian rivals will face off.
India vs Pakistan: Pitch report
The Dubai International Stadium boasts a quick outfield. The size of the stadium means there are no easy boundaries against spinners and dew has really not affected the recent games. The slow pitch is not ideal for seamers but can assist spinners well. The sluggish nature demands batters to be a little patient with their stroke-making, and thus it is a settle-down-and-attack kind of scenario.
Dubai weather update
Dubai is highly unlikely to get any rain on Sunday and the match is expected to take place under very warm conditions. Tonight's temperature is expected to range between 30.5°C and 34.8°C and the humidity will hover around 61-62%, reports predicted.
Squads
India: Suyakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.