"Babar Azam hasn't yet scored a half-century against India in ODI cricket" - Aakash Chopra wants the pressure to be maintained on Pakistan skipper
Aakash Chopra wants India to maintain pressure on Babar Azam and Pakistan's other top-order batters in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash between the two sides.
The two arch-rivals will lock horns at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, September 10. The group game between the two teams didn't yield a result as rain didn't allow the Men in Green to face a single delivery after Rohit Sharma and Co. set them a 267-run target.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra urged India to maintain a stranglehold on Babar, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq. He reasoned:
"In Pakistan's batting, Fakhar Zaman hasn't yet scored runs. So you need to maintain pressure on him because Pakistan will be a threat eventually. They are now as well and will be going forward too, but Pakistan will also reach the semi-finals (of the World Cup). If we will reach, they will also reach."
The former Indian opener added:
"So it's important to maintain it if you have an upper hand against someone. Babar Azam hasn't yet scored a half-century against India in ODI cricket - maintain pressure on him. Put pressure on Imam-ul-Haq, if you give them blows at the start, the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Agha Salman can crumble under pressure."
Babar has aggregated 158 runs at an underwhelming average of 31.60 in his five ODI innings against India. It is his worst average across all teams against whom he has played more than one game in the 50-over format.
"Your bowling has the might to demolish the opposition team at the start" - Aakash Chopra on India's seamers
While acknowledging that Pakistan have the superior seam attack, Aakash Chopra added that the Indian pacers are capable of striking a few early blows. He said:
"Their fast bowling is slightly better. Your heart says you shouldn't say that but you feel that their bowling is better with the kind of form that they are in. However, your bowling has the might to demolish the opposition team at the start and then spin can come to the fore."
While expecting a closely fought contest if it's not a rain-truncated game, Chopra concluded by hoping that the match doesn't go to the reserve day. He reasoned:
"I am expecting a great game of cricket if the entire 100 overs are played. If that doesn't happen, it becomes a problem, because the match will go to the next day. Then Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will say why there is a reserve day for someone and not for them."
The Bangladesh and Sri Lankan cricket boards have stated that they were taken into confidence before a reserve day was added for the India-Pakistan Super Four clash. Apart from the final, it is the only game in the tournament that has a reserve day, which has probably been added due to financial reasons.