The current Indian team is not invincible, and Pakistan will be in with a chance of beating them if they play sensible cricket.
The current Indian team may look strong on paper but they don’t have the big names like Rohit and Kohli in their batting lineup anymore. They have played some excellent cricket recently, but there are weaknesses that the Pakistani team can exploit if they plan and execute properly.
Starting with Pakistan’s batting against the Indian bowling lineup, it was seen in their last match that Pakistani batsmen threw away their wickets at the start. The openers need to be a little patient. They need to get settled in before going for big shots. If the openers fall early, it puts pressure on the middle order, which is already in terrible form.
The make-or-break situation is the middle overs, where Indian spin might comes into play. They have one of the best spin departments at their disposal. In their last match, Pakistan had put up a decent score of 42 for 2 during the powerplay, but during their next 4 overs of spin, they only scored 7 runs and lost 2 wickets. And it all went downhill after that.
Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarty will pose a similar threat today, and Pakistan must come up with a strategy and maybe a bit of improvisation to tackle them. One thing they must avoid is dot balls. They must look to rotate strike with odd boundaries. They must try and take the game deep and then start going for boundaries in the final 5 overs.
Bumrah has come back from an injury and India will only have Pandya to finish of the innings. This will be Pakistan’s chance to put pressure on them and score some quick runs. Shaheen has shown in the previous two matches that you can play big shots towards the end. But Pakistan needs proper batsmen towards the back end of the innings to go for big shots, and that will happen if they play sensibly in the middle overs.
If Pakistan bats first, they must look to set a target of 160-170. They have a pretty decent bowling lineup, and if they bowl well, they can put India under pressure and may sneak a victory.
The Indian batting lineup looks really strong on paper, but it is not invincible. All Pakistan needs is the wicket of Abishek Sharma in the first couple of overs. He goes for his shots from ball one, and with that, he also presents an opportunity for his wicket. The onus will be on Shaheen to take him out.
With Abishek out of the way, it will expose the Indian middle order soon. They have some good batsmen there as well, but they don’t have the class of Rohit or Kohli at their disposal. The current Indian batting lineup can be put under immense pressure if its top order falls.
Pakistani spinners have bowled well during the Asia Cup and with Haris Rauf back in the squad the bowling lineup has gotten stronger. Haris has given Suryakumar Yadav a tough time in the past, and let’s hope he gets him out. If Surya falls, India don’t have much experience left in the batting. They will be highly dependent on Hardik Pandya, who is a terrific hitter. Don’t feed him spinners; try to bowl pace to him, and he may get out.
Overall, it is all about planning and execution from Pakistan. They have the resources; they just need to put a solid display on the field.
With the handshake controversy surrounding the last match, Pakistan must take this match as a fight between the two nations. Pakistanis tried being nice to the Indians, but they didn’t reciprocate it. There is a lot at stake, and Pakistan must respond to Indians in their own language and win this all-important match to restore their lost glory and give their fans something to celebrate.
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