Krunal Pandya leads India against Pakistan as the Hong Kong Sixes begin in Mong Kok

Krunal Pandya captains India against Pakistan in their opening Group C match at the Hong Kong Sixes on Friday, having inherited the job when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was recalled to the national squad

India begin the tournament at the Mission Road Ground in Mong Kok at 11.45am IST on Friday, against a Pakistan side that arrives as the defending champion.

Pakistan took a sixth Hong Kong Sixes title last year, making 135 for 3 and beating Kuwait by 43 runs in the final. India went out in the group stage, despite beating Pakistan on the way.

Group C is completed by the United Arab Emirates, whom India meet on Saturday morning. Only the group winner goes through to the Cup semi-finals.

A late change at the top

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was named captain when the squad was first announced. He was withdrawn on Saturday 17 October, after India called him up for the T20I tour of New Zealand.

He had also been added to India's squad for the fifth T20I against West Indies, after Arshdeep Singh was injured in the previous match in Hyderabad.

Krunal Pandya, already in the seven, took the captaincy in his place.

Kulwant Khejroliya, the Gujarat Titans left-arm seamer, came in as the replacement player, less than a fortnight before the tournament.

An all-IPL seven

Every member of the squad holds an IPL contract. Krunal is joined by Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Shashank Singh and Rahul Tewatia, with T Natarajan and Khejroliya the specialist bowlers.

Tewatia and Khejroliya are Gujarat Titans team-mates. Rana plays for Delhi Capitals, Tripathi for Kolkata Knight Riders, Shashank for Punjab Kings and Natarajan for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

It is a different kind of selection from the one India sent last November, which was led by Dinesh Karthik and drew largely on former international players.

Six players, six overs

The Sixes is played six a side over six-over innings, and every player but the wicketkeeper is required to bowl.

Twelve teams are divided into four groups of three across three days, from Friday to Sunday. Australia and Hong Kong open the tournament on Friday morning, before India and Pakistan play.

Group winners contest the Cup, runners-up the Plate and third-placed teams the Bowl, so every side plays into the weekend whatever happens in the pool.

Group A holds Australia, England and Hong Kong, Group B has Bangladesh, Scotland and Sri Lanka, and Group D is made up of Afghanistan, Oman and South Africa.

What Pakistan bring

Pakistan are led by Abbas Afridi, with Khawaja Nafay, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saad Masood, Ahmed Daniyal, Abdul Samad and Muhammad Shahzad completing the squad.

Shahzad took 2-15 against India in last year's meeting, and Samad took a wicket in the same innings.

Pakistan have won the event six times. India's single title came in 2005, and the United Arab Emirates have never won it.

Two runs, and then nothing

India beat Pakistan by two runs on the DLS method in the same pool last November, posting 86 for 4 from their six overs before rain ended Pakistan's reply after three.

Robin Uthappa made 28 from 11 balls in that innings and Bharat Chipli 24 from 13, with Karthik unbeaten on 17 from six.

The win was not enough. India finished third in the pool, dropped into the Bowl League, lost all three matches there and placed last of the twelve teams.

Friday is the first match of Krunal's captaincy, and the start of an attempt to better that with a side drawn entirely from the current IPL.

India's second Group C match, against the United Arab Emirates, follows on Saturday.

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