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India vs Pakistan: No Ordinary Battle

The Super 12s of the T20 World Cup get underway on Saturday, but for the cricket-mad fans in India and Pakistan, the tournament begins only the following day, when their heroes lock horns with each other.

Any India-Pakistan contest is most eagerly awaited. If the wait is even more breathless this time, it’s because the sides haven’t played each other for more than two years. That it is also the first match for both means more is at stake, because in this format and in a competition of this nature, it’s imperative to grab the momentum quickly.

Speaking from experience, my teammates and I approached matches against Pakistan with the same intensity and focus as any other. We weren’t more emotionally invested because it was Pakistan. I did get the impression that Pakistan’s players were a little more charged up, perhaps reflecting the pressure of expectations from their followers.

India were excellent in warm-up wins against England and Australia and must have been particularly pleased with the form of their batters. I believe this tournament, more than any T20 event, will be decided by batsmen. India have a distinct edge in that all members of the squad played in the IPL in the same conditions recently and so have a great understanding of what to expect from the pitches.

With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul confirmed to open and Virat Kohli coming in at No. 3, I’d like to see Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4. He can be unconventional and unorthodox, and is a master at maneuvering and manipulating the field in the middle overs, a huge requirement when the ball goes soft and bowlers take pace off. He and Virat will be crucial to setting up the platform that explosive finishers like Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja can capitalise on.

No matter whether he can bowl or not, I would go with Pandya. The damage he can do is massive, and his presence will allow the top three to bat with greater freedom because there is insurance in the event of a collapse. A sixth bowling option at his expense would expose a long tail, which is a major red flag against a high-class, versatile Pakistan bowling attack.

Pakistan is an excellent T20 team with a distinct accent on pace, so I am sure Virat, Ravi Shastri and MS Dhoni will take all factors into account while arriving at the team composition. I’d go for Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as my three quicks because when you play five bowlers, you want at least four of them to be attacking options. My choice for the second spinner will be Varun Chakravarthy, and I say this even though R Ashwin bowled superbly in the warm-up games. Varun had great success in the IPL and brings a certain mystery that Pakistan hasn’t encountered first-hand. If nothing else, that should be the clincher if he is 100% fit to play.

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