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The India vs Pakistan rivalry goes back decades. With the political tension between the two nations, the clashes between them have been scarce, limited to ICC events and Asia Cup in the last decade. Hence, when the archrivals lock horns, it attracts millions of eyeballs around the world. On September 2, the Rohit Sharma-led side will take on Babar Azam’s brigade in the Asia Cup 2023. Ahead of the high-voltage encounter, former Australia pacer Tom Moody has called it a bigger rivalry than the Ashes.
“I think this match surpasses the Ashes,” Moody told Star Sports. “It’s always got a lovely story to it, and both are outstanding cricketing nations.”
Moody also assessed the Pakistan side which beat Afghanistan in the three-ODI series. “And when you look at that Pakistan squad, it does boast a lot of talent. But one thing that stands out for me is that it also boasts experience. So now they have the combination of experience and talent, they are a real threat. They can match India with their pace bowling; they’ve got genuine pace on their side, and the only issue I see them potentially having is the depth in the quality of their batting which India has got. So that’s going to be the interesting pressure that they put on the likes of Babar Azam at the top of the order,” the 57-year-old said.
The last time India played an ODI against Pakistan was in the 2019 World Cup where the Virat Kohli-led side registered a comprehensive win over Sarfaraz Ahmed's men in Manchester. They are likely to meet a few times in the Asia Cup 2023.
Moody also named Shaheen Afridi the biggest threat to India's top order as he had proved earlier in T20 World Cup 2021.
“Shaheen Afridi. Full Stop. I just think that Shaheen Afridi with the new ball is a major threat, which he has done historically. Broken through with that new ball, manages to blow away a couple of early wickets, which then opens up the middle order for India to resurrect things. Particularly for a middle order that hasn’t had a lot of game time,” Moody opined.
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