Rahul NareshIndia take on Pakistan in what will be the second game of this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for both sides. These neighbouring countries meet each other on Sunday (June 09) in New York.
The games so far in the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have proved to be extremely tricky conditions for batting. Therefore, the overs at the top might just dictate the direction in which this game goes.
Low Scoring affair
The first thing that one must not expect from this clash are high scores based on what we’ve seen in the previous three encounters at this venue. South Africa bowled out Sri Lanka in their opening clash for just 77 runs and found it a hard pitch to bat on while chasing down this total.
Similarly, India made use of the available movement and variable bounce to restrict Ireland to a score of 96. These games providing low scores could be a sign that the wicket in New York is the toughest for batters. Although India and Pakistan should fare slightly better, given their technical prowess as far as batting is concerned, don’t expect scores to cross the 180 mark.
No wrist spin
Another interesting facet that may be noticed from these matches is the lack of use of wrist spin. South Africa chose to leave out strike bowler Tabraiz Shamsi for their opening encounter, while India went into their match against Ireland without both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Even with Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the team, Rohit Sharma went to spin for just two overs. With the amount of lateral movement that this pitch provides, expect both teams to go seam-heavy.
A hungry Pakistan
What was seen as an early fixture in the tournament now is probably do-or-die for the Pakistan team. They suffered a shock defeat to the USA in a super over during their first match of the tournament. With the USA already having beaten Canada, they have put themselves in a great position to qualify for the Super Eights.
Should India manage to beat Pakistan and the USA to secure a result against Ireland, Babar Azam and Co. would be jetting out after just the first round of this competition. Therefore, with so much on the line, expect a much more fired-up Pakistan team to turn up against India.
The attitude of the skipper and his team has already come under fire from pundits like Dinesh Karthik following that poor performance against the USA.
A Virat Kohli show
One can never leave out India icon Virat Kohli from a conversation. The 35-year-old has been tasked with opening the batting with Rohit Sharma after a stellar IPL that saw him rack up 741 runs and win the orange cap, which is given to the tournament’s highest run-getter.
However, Kohli has had a disappointing start to the T20 World Cup, scoring just one run in his innings against Ireland. It’s unlike Kohli to go consecutive games without performing, and given his form lately, expect the former national team skipper to come all guns blazing.
Can Pakistan improve their T20 World Cup record v India?
Over the years, India have gotten the better of their Asian neighbours in T20 World Cups. Starting off by beating the country twice in the inaugural edition of the competition in 2007, India have beaten the Men in Green on six occasions overall out of their seven meetings.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s only victory against India came during the 2021 T20 World Cup, where Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam registered a 152-run partnership to claim a famous 10-wicket win.
