India v Pakistan LIVE: T20 World Cup score and latest updates from New York as rain delays start

Boo! The rain is back in New York – that 4pm start isn’t going to be happening.

India unchanged from the side that beat Ireland and Pakistan make just one change to their XI after the Ireland defeat. Imad Wasim comes in for Azam Khan. It means Mohammad Rizwan will likely go behind the stumps.

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan XI: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir

The atmosphere even for the toss is raucous! Babar Azam wins it – first blood to Pakistan and they elect to field. Not a surprise given the overcast conditions.

India skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledges they would have had a bowl as well if they’d won the toss.

Ok, it’s good news! The toss will now take place at 3.30pm BST (seven minutes’ time) with a start time of 4pm BST, so only 30 minutes delay. We’ll take that!

The rain has stopped, the covers are coming off and the umpires are out for a pitch inspection. I reckon we’ll have a slightly delayed start but shouldn’t be too long (famous last words…)

But the question then arises: do we really want America to become cricket-mad? The marketing and finance bods at the International Cricket Council would presumably be delighted. Breaking America is not only the Holy Grail of global pop bands, but also of anyone wanting to make big bucks – and money is these days a major driver of those who run cricket internationally.

There have been advantages to all this for sure, but cricket’s soul has been troubled. So just imagine what will happen if the Yanks get their hands on the sport. For one thing, it’ll become de rigueur to watch matches accompanied by two-litre sodas and giant foam hands. And such is America’s penchant for cultural imperialism, you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll want to tweak the rules – bigger bats maybe, or perhaps a third set of stumps, just to spice things up a bit. “Leg before wicket” will become “Pants on fire”, and “Howzat” will be replaced with “Whatssup?!”

And if there’s money to made, Donald Trump will no doubt find a way to get a slice of the pie. He could build a cricket ground at Mar-a-Largo and spend his next presidency telling everyone it’s better than Lord’s. He might even redesignate his title to “The Umpire of the United States of America”. And as he might be in jail, dreaming about ways of getting out will be entirely appropriate.

Will Gore gives his take on America’s growing love affair with cricket:

The drizzle is coming down in New York, so I fear we may be on for a delayed start, with the cover still on the pitch. We’re supposed to start at 3.30pm BST, so in about 30 minutes’ time but the toss has been delayed.

It’s going to be quite the atmosphere in New York

India captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with an impressive half-century before retiring hurt to guide his team to an eight-wicket victory over Ireland in their opening T20 World Cup group match in New York on Wednesday.

After 14 wickets had fallen for 157 runs in the first match on the temporary drop-in pitch when South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets, India bowled Ireland out for 96 with four overs to spare.

Rohit helped allay fears the pitches imported from Adelaide were too helpful to the quicker bowlers, however, easing his way to 52 from 37 balls with three sixes and four fours ahead of one of the most anticipated games of the tournament against Pakistan on Sunday.

After Rohit won the toss on an overcast morning, Ireland were immediately in trouble as they slumped to 46-6. Only Gareth Delaney offered any real defiance in the face of an attack in which fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was again virtually unplayable, capturing 2-6 from his three overs and beating all the batters in the air or off the pitch.

Delaney, batting at number seven, scored 26 from 14 balls including a four and six from consecutive balls from left-arm paceman Arshdeep Singh before he was run out. Only three other Ireland players reached double figures.

After Virat Kohli had been quickly dismissed for one, Rishabh Pant (36 not out) batted with typical impudence, scoring the winning runs with a reverse sweep for six.

India are among the favourites for the International Cricket Council event but they have not won a major cricket tournament since the Champions Trophy in 2013 and the T20 World Cup has evaded their grasp since they became the first-ever winners back in 2007.

Meanwhile, Australia stand on the brink of an unprecedented feat in world cricket. If Mitchell Marsh’s side can win, the nation will hold every major cricketing trophy across the men’s and women’s game.