IND vs PAK 2022: 3 player battles to watch out for in massive T20 World Cup encounter
India vs Pakistan is always a high-pressure encounter and if it is on a big stage like the T20 World Cup, the stakes are even higher. Fans from both countries make the build-up to the game electrifying and expect their star players to step up and deliver against their arch-rivals.
While the pressure can easily get the better of many players, a few have managed to produce match-winning performances in such contests.
The current India and Pakistan teams boast a number of world-class players who will face off against each other on Sunday. These match-ups can play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the game. On that note, let's take a look at three player battles to watch out for on Sunday at the MCG.
#3 Ravichandran Ashwin vs Babar Azam
Looking at the way off-spinner Bracewell bowled v Pakistan, I'm sure the Indian think-tank would've been tempted to go with Ashwin
Team India will have the memories of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's incredible 152-run partnership last year fresh in their memory. The Men in Blue will know that they need to break this opening partnership upfront to gain a stranglehold over Pakistan. They may need a new formula.
One match-up that goes against the Pakistan openers is that of Ravichandran Ashwin. Captain Rohit Sharma hasn't been shy of making changes in the XI for matches and that could play lead to Ashwin playing on Sunday.
Babar has a strike rate of just 118.39 against off-spinners and has already been dismissed five times in T20Is by them. This could well pave the way for India to unleash Ashwin in the powerplay and look for the wicket of the Pakistan captain through him.
#2 Suryakumar Yadav vs Mohammad Nawaz
Bowlers have been swept for big sixes by Suryakumar Yadav but not against the craft of Nawaz :)
Suryakumar Yadav has shown some unreal consistency in the T20I format of late. He already has nine half-centuries and is arguably one of the best T20 batters in the world at the moment.
He has faced Pakistan thrice and hasn't quite lived up to the billing. Moreover, left-arm spinners have proven to be a rare weakness for him in this format. 'SKY' has a strike rate of just 117.39 against left-arm spinners and has already been dismissed thrice by them in T20Is, including once by Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz.
Pakistan will know that they need to stop Suryakumar from going berserk and Nawaz could be their trump card. SKY, on the other hand, will be even more motivated to get the better of the arch-rivals.
#1 Rohit Sharma vs Shaheen Afridi
Scary part about this delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi is that i can easily picturise Rohit sharma here...
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Undoubtedly and arguably the biggest player-battle to watch out for is that of Rohit Sharma against Shaheen Afridi. The Indian captain's weakness against the left-arm pacers swinging the ball upfront is well-documented.
Shaheen has already got the wood over Rohit, having dismissed him for a golden duck when the two teams met in last year's edition of the tournament. Rohit was seen practicing hard in the nets to counter this threat.
However, the 35-year-old could probably take confidence from the fact that he had smashed Shaheen during the 2018 Asia Cup. With Rohit Sharma's ultra-attacking template, it will be interesting to see how this match-up pans out as it could well dictate the flow of the game.