Excitement is set to reach its crescendo when India and Pakistan resume their rivalry on Sunday in a Group A match of the Champions Trophy, and it could be felt in the voice of former Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad as he previewed the big clash on his YouTube channel.
On current form, India are the overwhelming favourites, which is unlike India vs Pakistan matches historically. But the unpredictable nature of the Pakistan team always remains a threat.
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While Shehzad admitted that the Indian team is far superior to Pakistan currently, he said they could be in trouble if Pakistan bowlers are able to bring the Indian all-rounders early to the crease.
“It will be important for India’s top four to play 35-40 overs. You may go for attack early on but if you lose three wickets inside the first 15 overs, then there are a lot of allrounders lower down in India’s line-up,” Shehzad said.
All-rounders Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja form the core of India’s middle order, which makes Shehzad believe that Pakistan will be in the game if they can dismiss the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer early.
“It (having all-rounders in the eleven) can work for you in T20Is, like Rohit Sharma says it adds depth to the line-up. But the captain would know that if you lose early wickets in ODIs, you have to plan your innings; to reach the desired target, you need proper batters. That game-awareness the all-rounders may not have,” Shehzad analysed.
“Agar Pakistan pehla punch maarne mei kamyab ho gaya aur jaldi teen wickets le li, India ke all-rounders ko jaldi game mei le aaya, toh Pakistan yeh bahut bada kaam karega (if Pakistan manage to throw the first punch and take three early wickets to bring India’s all-rounders in early, that will be a big job done).”
However, Shehzad also issued a warning to the Pakistan bowlers, saying that a Virat Kohli special is around the corner and it might come on Sunday.
“Virat Kohli played a good knock against England in tough conditions (52 in third ODI at Ahmedabad). When you are short of runs and you come up with such an innings, then your feet (movement), body language, all those things fall in place and help, which will be very good from Virat’s point of view,” he said.
“He is such a player who plays a magical innings in a big match. Remember how he snatched the match out of Pakistan’s jaws last time.”
Having lost their first match against New Zealand, Pakistan are in a virtual must-win situation against India, who are coming into this match with a convincing six-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Top two teams from each of the two groups qualify for the semifinals.
