Batting first an advantage in India-Pakistan World Cup matches: Inzamam-ul-Haq
Former Pakistan captain and member of the 1992 World Cup winning campaign Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that India have enjoyed the advantage of being at the right end of the toss more often than not in their encounters against Pakistan at the World Cup. India won the toss on Sunday and put up an imposing score of 300 for 7 in their 50 overs, which proved to be too much for Pakistan to chase down in the end.
"I believe batting first is always an advantage as batsmen tend to get under pressure while chasing in big games," Inzamam wrote in his column for the ICC.
“I can't find a suitable word to describe what goes wrong when we chase against India, but it's more like a mental blockage of players,” he added.
Out of the 6 encounters between the two arch-rivals in World Cups, India have won the toss and batted first on 5 occasions, winning each one of them. The one occasion when Pakistan batted first was when they won the toss in the 2003 World Cup, but a special innings from Sachin Tendulkar ensured that India ended up on the winning side on that occasion.
Pakistan should look to play specialists: Javed Miandad
Another member of that 1992 World Cup winning squad Javed Miandad, meanwhile, blasted the team selection on Sunday, adding the team should look to opt for specialists in their side and not try to fit in out-of-form players.
"What is needed is to field the right combination and look for specialists instead of accommodating players who are not in form. Remember Pakistan should come first and not the individuals,” Miandad said.
However, despite the loss, Miandad sounded optimistic about the team’s chances in the forthcoming matches as he felt that they wouldn’t be under as much pressure, as they were on Sunday, in the remaining games.
"In a way it is good that Pakistan has got an early jitter. Pressure should be now off from their shoulders and they should concentrate on the remaining five group matches,” the 57-year-old added.