Thanks for joining us as we reported on all the colour and excitement ahead of this major cricketing event. We're ending our live coverage now, but our colleagues from BBC Sport will continue to bring you all the updates and analyses from the match - you can head here to read more.

This page was brought to you by teams in India and Pakistan, including Meryl Sebastian, Zoya Mateen, Nikhila Henry, Antariksh Jain, Anshul Verma, Vikas Pandey, Soutik Biswas, Samira Hussain, Nitin Srivastava, Syed Kazmi and Caroline Davies. It was edited by Geeta Pandey and Sharanya Hrishikesh.

... is that Shubman Gill is playing for India.

Image source, Getty Images

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Ahmedabad

Players from both India and Pakistan are on the ground. Their body language appears relaxed. Patriotic Indian songs are being played on loudspeakers and the crowd is periodically erupting into chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai (hail mother India).

India have won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Mathew Henry
BBC Sport in Ahmedabad

Image source, Getty Images

"This is a golden opportunity for us to become heroes."

As Pakistan team captain Babar Azam grinned and joked his way through Friday's news conference, there was no sign of nerves at the task that awaits.

With the tide firmly against them, Pakistan are bidding to put to bed the statistic that bothers them most.

They have met India seven times at the 50-over World Cup. Saturday's hosts have won all seven, including the 2011 semi-final in Mohali as India went on to win the title.

"I don't focus on the past," said Babar. "I try to focus on the future. Such records are made to be broken and I try to break them."

Read more

With just a few minutes to go before the match starts, fans are pouring into the stadium. Here's what the stands are looking like right now:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Nitin Srivastava
Reporting from Ahmedabad

This is perhaps the only World Cup where just about half-a-dozen journalists from Pakistan have managed to make it to such a crucial game - because of visa delays.

Some of them told me that the experience of waiting to see if they would get a visa to travel to India has been quite harrowing - from losing money on non-refundable tickets and hotel bookings to just missing out on the chance to cover such an important match.

Some who have now got visas are planning to come to India in time for the other Pakistan games.

Gautam Bhattacharyya
Sports writer

Image source, AFP

Leading up to Saturday’s match in the 50-overs World Cup, it's impossible to ignore India's impeccable record of seven consecutive victories against Pakistan over the past 30 years. How and where did it begin?

It was at the’92 World Cup, where India won a low scoring game by 43 runs in Sydney. Prior to that, between 1978 and 1991, Pakistan enjoyed a 24-11 record in the ODI contests with India in bilateral series, World Series Championship (WSC) or when the teams played in Sharjah.

But in Sydney, Tendulkar anchored the Indian innings with an unbeaten 54 while Ajay Jadeja chipped in with 46 against a formidable pace attack. India scored 216. Pakistan, however, were all out for 173 in 48.1 overs – starting a longstanding losing trend.

Nikhila Henry
Reporting from Delhi

Image source, ICC

When India and Pakistan line up for the match today, the home crowd may be dancing to the beats of Dil Jashn Bole (The heart says celebrate) – the ICC’s official anthem for the World Cup. The Hindi-language song, composed by music director Pritam, features Bollywood star Ranveer Singh dancing in his characteristic exuberant style.

The away crowd, however, is likely to be grooving to the beats of Pakistan Cricket Board’s official anthem – Koi Nahi Like Us (There is no-one like us). The catchy rap song, an ode to Pakistan’s players, showcases the country’s cricketing prowess. It has even impressed many Indians, who have been leaving appreciative comments on YouTube.

And what is the World Cup without its unofficial anthems? Some musicians in India’s Chennai city have released a Tamil song in the Carnatic music style (southern Indian classical music) - called Cricket Endraal Bhaaratham (Cricket is India) - to cheer for the home team.

Image source, Video grab

Here's the story of an epic face-off from the past.

In 1992, a hilarious and slightly chaotic confrontation broke out during an India-Pakistan match in Sydney.

Pakistan were chasing 216 to win when Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More appealed for a leg-side catch against legendary batsman Javed Miandad.

This did not sit too well with Miandad. The two were arguing when suddenly, an animated Miandad began to jump up and down in an apparent mockery of More’s gestures.

The “jumping incident” - as it’s popularly called - is still one of the most iconic and unforgettable moments in the sporting rivalry between the two countries. Read about more such moments here

Soutik Biswas
Reporting from Ahmedabad

With at least six teams having an equal chance of making the final, it is too early to predict this World Cup right now. But what if India and Pakistan meet again on 19 November for the final in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium?

"An India-Pakistan final would be a promoter's dream, and its aftermath potentially a security official's nightmare," Shashi Tharoor, an Indian MP who is also a well-known cricket writer, told me.

Wondering why he said that? Find out here

There's only one name on these lips...

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Ahmedabad

We're now inside the stadium - and it's filling up fast.

A few Pakistani players are warming up here. It’s a sea of blue as far as we can see and it will get bigger as more fans enter.

The stage is also being set for a cultural performance. Stay tuned as we bring you more from here.

In a pre-match analysis on Friday, former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said he would have liked to see batsman Fakhar Zaman open the innings alongside Abdullah Shafique instead of Imam-ul-Haq.

India's bowling and middle-order batsmen looked good, he said, but Pakistan's Babar Azam would be looking to sharpen his captaincy at this match.

Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali said he'd keep an eye on how batsman Babar Azam plays against Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

He added that bowler Kuldeep Yadav had been "dangerous" for the Pakistan team in the recent past. "On the other hand, Indian batsmen are always wary of Shaheen Shah Afridi."

Image source, ANI

That's what a couple of Shubman Gill fans had to say today about their favourite player getting dengue.

The talented opener was forced to miss India's matches against Australia and Afghanistan.

We'll find out soon if he'll make it to today's line-up or not.

Soutik Biswas
Reporting from Ahmedabad

We have been around the stadium for more than two hours and haven’t spotted a single Pakistan flag-waving fan yet. It is a cheering sea of blue without even a speck of green.

Pakistani fans have expressed disappointment at not getting visas in time to cross the border and cheer for their team at the World Cup.

As we mentioned earlier, Pakistan's captain Babar Azam has said that his team is not daunted by the prospect of playing in front of a mostly Indian crowd today.

India and Pakistan may be fierce rivals on the pitch, but their cricketing history is replete with stories of love, respect and camaraderie between the two teams.

From Virat Kohli to Babar Azam, players from the two countries have long shared warm relationships. And this starts right from 1947, when India was partitioned and Pakistan created.

Read about these lovely friendships here

Gautam Bhattacharyya
Sports writer

Image source, AFP

India-Pakistan matches have usually brought out the aggressive spirit even in normally mild-mannered players.

Venkatesh Prasad, who led India’s seam attack in the 90s along with Javagal Srinath, is someone who is usually described as polite to a fault. However, big games against Pakistan seemed to bring out the best in him.

Remember his famous send-off to Pakistan’s opener Aamer Sohail in the 1996 quarter final at his home turf Bengaluru?

Sohail had hammered Prasad for a four on the offside and then pointed out that he would hit him through there again - but the Indian bowler had the last laugh, taking his wicket in the same over.

By the way, Prasad’s 5/27 in 1999 is the best haul by an Indian against Pakistan in the World Cup.

Here's one slithery anecdote from the past.

In the late 1990s, the right-wing Shiv Sena party “threatened to release venomous snakes” in the Delhi stadium where India and Pakistan were set to play a Test match, write Abhishek Mukherjee and Joy Bhattacharjya in their new book The Great Indian Cricket Circus: Amazing Facts, Stats and Everything in Between.

The organisers weren’t willing to take any risks.

“The best snake-charmers of Delhi were placed at strategic points in the stands. Thankfully, the threat was never made good on,” they write.

Vikas Pandey
Reporting from Ahmedabad

We met Pranav and Monica from Ahmedabad city outside the stadium. They are school sweethearts whose families haven't agreed yet to their marriage.

For them, today is a chance to cheer for India and spend a nice day together.