Indian cricket has always enjoyed the luxury of some of the best batters in the world. Be it Sunil Gavaskar in the 1970s and 80s, Sachin Tendulkar in the 1990s and 2000s or Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now, the Men in Blue batters have dominated world cricket for decades now. When it comes to Pakistan, the Men in Green's bowling attack has played a major role in the country becoming a formidable force in the sport. From Imran Khan in the 1980s and 1990s, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in the following decade or Shaheen Afridi now, Pakistan have always possessed a lethal bowling attack that can blow away the best of batting line-ups in the world.
As the India and Pakistan gear up to reignite their gripping rivalry, the focus will once again switch to the former's star-studded batting line-up and the latter's lethal bowling attack. The two arch-rivals are getting ready to square off at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23 (Sunday).
Team India captain Rohit Sharma is well aware about his team's strength and the opposition's strong suit as well.
"We also know their bowling is very good. And our batters are quite experienced," the Indian captain said in the press conference.
"It becomes a good situation for the match and the viewers. I'll say this that we have talked about how we need to execute this. For us both batting and bowling will be important and we must also not forget fielding," he added.
The Indian skipper also shed some light on what it's like to play Pakistan in the ICC tournament, now that he is going to lead the country against the arch-rivals.
"Obviously captaining India is an icing on the cake. I've played before against Pakistan in a big match. But my focus will be on how India can do well in it," observed Rohit.
The two teams will square off against each other for the fourth time in a span of a year. Pakistan trounced India by 10 wickets in the T20 World Cup match last year in UAE while both teams registered a win against each other in the Asia Cup 2022. The Men in Blue will be desperate to exact revenge after suffering an awful defeat against the Men in Green last year and also for their loss in Asia Cup this year.
Looking at the recent results, Pakistan hold a slight edge over the Men in Blue. Having said that, it's will be a new day and Rohit Sharma is only focused on having the 'right mindset'.
"I don't believe in the terms, favorites and underdogs. If you don't reach the ground with the right mindset on that day, you won't be able to perform. Whenever we come into the World Cup, there's outside talk about favorites and underdogs. The qualifier was the best example of how you need to focus on execution on that very day," Rohit said.
