Indian sports commentator Harsha Bhogle has said that Pakistan would not be able to cope with the most intense and high-pressure T20 World Cup match against India scheduled on Sunday.
He said that Pakistan’s arch-rivals are in a better position as it can better handle the pressure. In the past, Bhogle had said that India had a better track record of handling pressure in big matches than Pakistan and these positive figures would go in favor of India.
Bhogle said that Pakistan having a poor record of defeating India in big tournament matches would put the Pakistani players under further pressure. This thing would give an advantage to India as they have been able to cope with pressure in the past.
When it comes to the most vicious rivalry of the cricketing world, one cannot forget the fans on both sides of the border. A fan, Ilyas Khan, a pan shop owner, when asked about Pakistan’s track record said that the track record if could go in favor of India, there is an equal chance that it might go against the team as the pressure of sustaining the record would be an extra topping on the already shuddered Indian players. He added that Pakistan has nothing to lose.
Does Pakistan really rely on Babar?
Bhogle thinks that Pakistan relies heavily on their captain Babar Azam and opener Muhammad Rizwan. The Indian commentator pointed out some weaknesses in the Pakistani team that could potentially lead to the downfall of the team. Bhogle said that Pakistan is heavily reliant upon their openers Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan. It would create a problem for Pakistan if India picked up on early wickets.
Bhogle remarked, “Pakistan depends very heavily on Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. They are wonderful players, Babar Azam is in tremendous form. But if India can knock over a couple in the powerplay, then I’m not sure that the Pakistan middle-order, even though there is now a lot of experience in there, is quite enough to win the game through.”
The warm match against South Africa has some other story to tell. Although lost, the squad proved that they are better off even without Babar and Muhammad Rizwan. The fixture had a lot to learn from but at the same time countless positives for Pakistan.
Bhogle asserted that both teams should minimize their mistakes as much as possible adding that both the teams should remember that they were playing against the world-class.
Earlier, Indian ministers had called for the cancellation of the India-Pakistan match due to ongoing tensions between IIOJK.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli had said that although the environment although would be different from fans’ point of view but for him, it is like any other game and that he was not feeling any pressure from the upcoming World Cup most-awaited match on Sunday.
