Political turmoil and flood worries are in place, but the million-dollar question for cricket fans is whether Pakistan will be able to win the Asia Cup match against India on Sunday. Will it be possible to recall last year’s World Cup, in which Pakistan beat India by 1o wickets.
It is said that cricket is by chance, anything can happen in it, it is a game of unexpected, dramatic changes. T20 format is more dangerous and unpredictable in that one or two players can turn the dice of the match. A power hitter can change the outcome of a match by scoring forty-fifty runs off fifteen baseballs, similarly to what a few overs bowled in the power play or death overs can do.
Regardless of the outcome of Pakistan vs India match, the important thing is what are the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams?
Pakistan’s biggest strength is the team’s consistency and the captain’s leading from the front with top-order batting. There will be only half a captain in the world at this time who has been performing exceptionally well with a consistency like Babar Azam. Babar is number one in the ODI and T20I rankings due to his performance, while he has also entered the top five in Test cricket. A year ago, Babar Azam scored the most runs in the T20 World Cup. Since then he has been scoring runs continuously, performed brilliantly against Australia in Tests and ODIs, had a very good performance against Sri Lanka, was also the top scorer against Holland. This is a big plus point. A captain who is playing well himself can lead the team with more confidence.
Babar and Rizwan are the opening pair in T20 batting while Fakhar Zaman plays at number three. All three of them have played a huge part in the team’s victories. The opening pair of Babar and Rizwan enjoyed themselves in the World Cup. Both have synergy and score runs with excellence. Both the openers have the quality that they can play full twenty overs and secure an end if they want to. Fakhar Zaman can score quick runs on one down with his aggressive hitting. Since the start of the World Cup last year, the duo of Babar and Rizwan have accounted for two-thirds (67%) of Pakistan’s runs in T20Is, the highest in the world.
According to the famous cricket website Cricinfo, the interesting thing is that although the Pakistan middle order has very few balls left to play, they have scored runs at the highest strike rate (152%) in the world. Pakistan’s middle order has good power hitters. Asif Ali, Khush Dil Shah, Muhammad Iftikhar, and Haider Ali, who are fed at numbers four, five, six, of them have the ability to score quick runs and hit long sixes, while Shadab Khan and Muhammad Nawaz are also aggressive in the lower batting order. Can bat. Shadab Khan has played brilliant innings in many matches under pressure recently, while Mohammad Nawaz has won many matches by hitting six fours in the last few balls.
Compared to India, Pakistan has another advantage in that the same team has been playing for a long time, more or less the same players are being fed for the last two years, everyone knows their role well and they have the problem of match practice. Not even faced. India, in contrast, has made many changes over the past year, fielding two or three different teams. This gave them the advantage that there are many options, it is useful in the long term, but the disadvantage is that the final squad that will play in the Asia Cup will not have so much consistency and harmony.
Pakistan’s bowling is not bad, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz are automatic choices. For the fifth bowler, it is expected that experienced Hasan Ali will be given a chance while Shahnawaz Dhani is also an option. Shadab and Nawaz are expected to make better use of Emirates pitches. Both have experience of playing PSL there for many years, Pakistan has also played their Test cricket in Emirates. Nawaz has also played many times in Emirates. Khushdil Shah can be used as a part-time spinner or Mohammad Iftikhar can be bowled if given a chance.
Pakistan’s fault lines ie weaknesses are hidden in its strength. The pair of Babar and Rizwan score more runs, but their strike rate is not very good in the power play or in the first ten overs. Neither is a power hitter, hitting long sixes is not their natural style. Rizwan still tries to hit a six, Babar’s style is similar to Muhammad Yousuf’s, of playing grounded shots. Fakhar will not be fed as an opener, otherwise, Fakhar as an opener has a better strike rate than both of them. If Pakistan plays first, then to give a big target to the opposing team, it is necessary to score ninety or hundred runs in the first ten overs, so that a target of around two hundred is set. For this, our top order will have to bring in aggression.
The absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi is a big loss. Pakistan’s best fast bowler is not playing. Shaheen’s performance against India has been very good, the psychological pressure was on him, which is now over. Wasim Jr. was also in good form, his injury is also detrimental. Hasan Ali is experienced, but his recent form is not good. If he was good, he would have been in the squad already. In the absence of Shaheen, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah have more responsibility.
Pakistan’s middle order is always viewed with suspicion, if Babar gets out early in a match then the middle order comes under pressure. Another factor is India’s spin bowling. Indian spinners like Chahal, Jadeja, Ashwin, etc. rotate the ball well and do not allow the batsmen to play openly. Pakistani batsmen will have a real challenge against the Indian spin attack.
A negative thing for Pakistan is that India’s two fast bowlers are new, they have not played before. Arsdeep Singh is their good left-arm swing bowler, he brings the ball in and out very well. Against the West Indies, this young fast bowler bowled very well and became the man of the tournament. Babar and Rizwan will have to play Arsdeep Singh carefully. Similarly, we do not have the experience of playing against Ayush Khan. This youngster has also bowled well in recent matches, it is also effective in death overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is an experienced pacer, has been India’s frontline bowler for many years.
The major difference between Pakistan and Indian batting is Indian aggression. Their batsmen play very aggressively, because of IPL they get an opportunity to play bowlers from all over the world, and this experience is useful for them. Skipper Rohit Sharma is very dangerous, Haris Rauf bowls more short off-length balls, and Rohit Sharma plays very good pull shots on short balls. K Rahul is also a dangerous hitter, Kohli has not scored many runs in the last few times, but he will definitely try. Will perform against Pakistan.
Surya Kumar Yadav has been declared as his favorite player by Wasim Akram, he is an aggressive batsman, he was also opened against West Indies, and maybe played at number four against Pakistan. Will play either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik, both dangerous hitters. Both Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja have experienced all-rounders. If India played first and Pakistani bowlers could not put pressure in the powerplay, then Indian batsmen have the ability to give a big target.
If Shaheen Shah and Wasim Junior were on the Pakistani team, this match would have been equal. In the absence of Shaheen, India have got a slight lead, think the ratio of fifty-five-forty-five. The important thing is that there are some charismatic players in the Pakistani team who can do anything. They have to perform exceptionally well to win. The performance that was shown against Holland, if the same is seen against India, then one can face severe disappointment.
