Pakistan players will walk into the field with a dream they have had for three decades, to end the drought in T20 World Cup against India and finally done with the hype every time a World Cup event is announced. The 12 losses in all World Cup events, fans expectations or maybe an alleged blank cheque if they beat India, will be playing on their mind when they don the green jersey in the much-anticipated encounter against Virat Kohli’s men.
While Kohli has stuck with his statement of going about it as just another game, there will be several other concerns the team needs to address despite the success in the warm-up games.
Wasim-Afridi effect
While KL Rahul has been in tremendous form of late, his partner Rohit Sharma has been inconsistent. The half-century against Australia in warm-up game would have been given him confidence but his record against Pakistan in the shorter format has been far from impressive. The last innings Rohit played against Pakistan in T20Is came in the inaugural edition of T20 World Cup.
In the powerplay overs he will be going up against left-arm spinner Imad Wasim. In Dubai, Wasim’s deliveries will skid and cause problems for the openers. If he gets a wicket in the powerplay overs, it will expose Virat Kohli, who has not been confident enough against spin bowling. Also, Rohit has not been comfortable against left-arm seamers with the new ball. In the first few deliveries, he is very vulnerable against left-armers. Even though Mohammad Amir is not in the squad, Shaheen Shah Afridi can be a threat to him. The vice-captain will also be facing Afridi for the first time.
Kohli’s form vs Pakistan
While Kohli has not enjoyed a consistent run with the bat lately but his form against Pakistan in T20 World Cups will be a major confidence booster. Pakistan are yet to dismiss Kohli in any T20 WC match. The India-Pakistan clash may just be the contest that gets Kohli back in form in the group stage of World Cup. The only concern he may have is his batting in the middle overs. Even during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, there was a notable dip in the strike rate of Kohli in middle overs. This is one aspect of Kohli’s batting which Pakistan bowlers would like to exploit in middle overs, especially with spinners like Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.
Hardik Pandya factor
While there is still a chance that Hardik Pandya may be handed the ball against Pakistan, he is likely to walk into the team as their designated finisher. Pandya showed glimpses of his potential in warm-up games but has not batted with his full potential yet. If India need to finish the innings with a flourish or need big runs in death overs, Hardik’s role as the no.6 batter will be crucial.
Who will be the 5th bowler?
It will be interesting to see whether India go with three spinners and two pacers or two spinners and three pacers. Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah are almost certain in the squad. Also, Varun Chakravarthy is supposed to be the mystery element which will leave Pakistan batters surprised like most batters in IPL 2021 did. Kohli did not spill the beans in the pre-match press conference. While Ravichandran Ashwin was in good form in warm-up games, Kohli maybe tempted to acquire the services of bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur and wicket-taker Mohammed Shami against Pakistan and leave out an experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Predicted XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
