Familiar–foes India and Pakistan face off in a high profile encounter of the ICC cricket world cup later today. The match is once again viewed with significant interest with the prevailing cold war between the two arch rivals.

The match at Manchester’s Old Trafford ground is scheduled for 3.15 PM kick off Nepal time. However, with some of the matcheswahed out due to bad weather, cricket fans are also keeping an eye on weather forecast, as fingers are all crossed for uninterrupted play.

The British rain has taken the centre stage as four out of the last eleven matches have been affected by rain. With 50 percent rain forecast for the day which could further deteriorate the soggy outfield condition, the bad weather might rob cricket fans of the most anicipated clash of the world cup. A washout might also cost sponsors a whopping obe billion dollars. Over seven hundred thousand fans had tried to book the ticket online for this particular match, for 26 thousand capacity Old Trafford ground.

The air routes for Manchester was significantly increased while there were facilities of fan zone areas. Fans had paid ten times the actual prices to get their tickets for the match. Over sixty percent tickets were bought by Indian fans while more than a billion people are expected to be glued to their television set to watch this matchless rivalry. With the two sides not involved in a single bilateral series since 2013, the build up to today’s world cup match is immense.

Formwise, India are in a much better form with big wins against Australia and South Africa under their belt, while Pakistan’s form has been erratic. Meanwhile, the fact that Pakistan have never beaten India in a World Cup contest adds another twist to the tale. However, Pakistan had hammered India in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. Indian fans are confident that their team would repeat World Cup history, while Pakistan fans are hoping that there’s always a first time as far as World cup is concerned, but weather permitting.