Mahendra Singh Dhoni's India will be looking to bounce back from its shock opening defeat when it takes on a resurgent Pakistan in Saturday's World Twenty20 blockbuster here. Red-hot favorite India was stunned by an unfancied New Zealand Tuesday when it was shot out for 79 in Nagpur — its lowest score on home turf in T20 Internationals. But India's limited-over skipper has full faith in his side that came into the tournament on the back of 10 wins in 11 T20 matches, including victory in the Asia Cup. "What's important is how to turn around and how to come back strong and I think this team has done this plenty of times," Dhoni said after the New Zealand loss. After its stumbles in Nagpur, India's frontline batsmen Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli will have to find their feet against a hostile Pakistan pace attack which includes the in-form Mohammad Amir. [caption id="attachment_42647" align="alignright" width="300"] Pakistan's Mohammad Amir (L) talks with Wahab Riaz during a training session in Kolkata Tuesday. — AP[/caption] The Pakistani paceman, on the comeback trail after serving a prison sentence and a five-year ban for spot-fixing, ended with impressive figures of 2-27 in his team's victorious opener against Bangladesh. Although India registered a commanding victory over Pakistan in last month's Asia Cup, its batsmen were far from comfortable against Amir, with Kohli congratulating him for "an amazing" spell of bowling. While the pitch in Nagpur turned dramatically, Eden Gardens is seen as offering more bounce and Dhoni could well be tempted to play a fit-again Mohammed Shami on what is be the speedster's home ground. Pakistan had come into the tournament in woeful form and its preparations were not helped by a row over security which led to the match being switched from Dharamsala to Kolkata. But its trouncing of Bangladesh has banished the gloom, with skipper Shahid Afridi leading from the front by spanking a 19-ball 49 and then bagging two key wickets in the 55-run win. Afridi said the result was a "morale booster" ahead of the clash between the South Asian titans who are both former World T20 champions. But he downplayed the significance of India's opening match upset. "They have been playing good cricket though they lost their last game," said Afridi. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin Friday termed the India-Pakistan rivalry "bigger than the Ashes. The two neighbours have gone to war on four occasions since independence and their now infrequent showdowns on the cricket pitch can bring both countries to a standstill. Ashwin, who is India's lead bowler, said that the players would try not to get caught up in all the excitement but acknowledged that it was no ordinary match. "This rivalry is huge, it's very hard to put a finger and tell how huge it is. It's probably bigger than the Ashes is," said Ashwin. "As far as Indians and Pakistanis go, I don't think they watch this as a game of cricket. It's more of a border rivalry," added the off-spinner. "They put their emotions into the game. For the players it's trying keeping their emotions aside and playing the game the best way we can." However, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis attempted to downplay the hype surrounding the game, saying it was ultimately just a game of cricket. "We should take it as a sport," said Younis, one of the most devastating bowlers in his day. "There is history between the two nations, not only culturally but also cricket history. The way we have played cricket in the past 50 years it's a treat to watch for the world." "It's the most watched game. So we should all cherish that and feel proud of it." Teams India (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh. Pakistan (from): Shahid Afridi (captain), Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Sharjeel Khan, Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz. Malinga to fly home Injured Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga will fly back home from the World Twenty20 in India without having played a single match, the country's cricket board said Friday. Malinga's departure is the latest setback for the maverick bowler, having been dropped as skipper after the team's recent disastrous Asia Cup showing in Bangladesh. "Sri Lanka team management on tour have observed that Malinga, whose niggling injury has been flaring up, would be better off resting it, and have recommended he return to Colombo," the board said in a statement. Malinga, 32, was last week retained in the squad with the board saying a replacement would be named shortly.
