'It’s going to be absolutely crazy' - Dale Steyn pumped up for India-Pakistan T20 World Cup 2022 clash at iconic MCG

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 on Friday. The eighth edition of the showpiece event will be played from October 16 to November 13 in Australia with the tournament hosts defending the title that they won beating New Zealand in the final last November.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan that is scheduled on October 23 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Even former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn seems to be excited about this epic clash.

Talking about his excitement about the India-Pakistan clash in the T20 World Cup later this year, the Proteas pace icon said that it is going to be absolutely ‘crazy’ also considering the fact that the marquee clash will be contested at the MCG.

MCG is one of my favourite venues to play cricket, says Steyn

“It’s going to be crazy. Just the game aside, it’s incredible. MCG is one of my favorite venues to play cricket. We played against India at the 2015 World Cup at the MCG. It was so loud when I tried to call whoever it was at mid-on from the middle, they couldn’t hear me. Now you turn the tables a little bit with Pakistan involved. It’s going to be absolutely crazy,” said Steyn while speaking on Star Sports.

The two teams will be renewing their rivalry in an ICC tournament just a year after their previous T20 World Cup faceoff. Pakistan broke their World Cup jinx over India with a comprehensive 10-wicket win in that clash. After being put in to bat, Virat Kohli & Co. got off to a disastrous start with pacer Shaheen Afridi sending back openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul cheaply before the then skipper Kohli’s fighting half-century got them to 151 from their 20 overs.

In reply, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan reach the target without breaking a sweat. India then suffered an eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand and even though they won the rest of their Super 12 games, it still was not good enough to earn them a semi-final berth.

Pakistan, on the other hand, remained undefeated in Super 12 to set up a clash against the eventual champions Australia in the second semi-final. Middle-order batter Matthew Wade’s three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over off Shaheen Afridi brought curtains down on the 2009 champions’ promising campaign.