"India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup" - Sourav Ganguly on the India-Pakistan clash in Ahmedabad
Sourav Ganguly has pointed out that past India-Pakistan ODI World Cup clashes haven't lived up to the expectations ahead of the game. He added that India's matches against Australia have been more closely fought affairs.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently announced the schedule of the ODI World Cup 2023. While the Men in Blue will start their campaign in the tournament against the Aussies at Chepauk in Chennai on October 8, they will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad a week later.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Ganguly was asked about his thoughts on Pakistan playing against India in India for the first time after the 2016 T20 World Cup and that it won't be just a cricket match, considering it will be played in front of more than 100 thousand spectators, to which he responded:
"There is a lot of hype in this match but the quality has not been that good for a long time because India kept on winning one-sided. Pakistan probably defeated India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in Dubai."
The former Indian skipper added:
"India did not play well in that tournament but according to me, India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup because the quality is better."
India have defeated Pakistan all seven times they have faced each other in ODI World Cups. All but one of these wins have been registered while setting a target, with the six-wicket win at Centurion in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa being the only exception.
"This Pakistan team is also good and the match will be good" - Sourav Ganguly
However, Sourav Ganguly acknowledged that the current Pakistan side is a well-rounded unit and that they become more dangerous on batter-friendly surfaces:
"This Pakistan team is also good and the match will be good. Pakistan becomes a good team on flat wickets because their batters use those conditions well. They have fast bowlers who use the conditions."
Ganguly concluded by highlighting that India's superior batting in seamer-friendly conditions gave them the edge in the past:
"Wherever there is seam or swing, because their quality of batting has been good in the past, I can't say what will happen going forward, India always used to march ahead. It will always be a big game. The conditions will also be important."
Five of India's seven World Cup wins against Pakistan have come in SENA countries, twice each in Australia and England and once in South Africa. Their other two victories were registered on Indian soil - the quarterfinals of the 1996 World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup.