"The most important takeaway is that you are playing Pakistan in the first match itself" - Gautam Gambhir on India's T20 WC fixtures
Gautam Gambhir believes Team India starting their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan will work to their advantage.
The ICC released the final T20 World Cup match list yesterday. Team India is scheduled to play their first match against Pakistan on October 24, followed by encounters against New Zealand, Afghanistan and the two qualifiers in the group.
While reflecting on India's T20 World Cup schedule during a discussion on the Star Sports show Game Plan, Gautam Gambhir expressed happiness about Team India facing Pakistan in their first encounter. He reasoned:
"The most important takeaway is that you are playing Pakistan in the first match itself on the 24th, that you are starting your campaign against Pakistan because I always remember that if you play against Pakistan later, the talk is always that when you are playing against Pakistan."
The former Indian opener highlighted that the players will be relieved of the immense hype that is created for an India-Pakistan encounter right at the outset. Gautam Gambhir observed:
"If you were playing the first match against New Zealand and the last match against Pakistan, the hype would have remained till the last match. If you had defeated New Zealand or even when you are playing against New Zealand, everyone would have been saying that the big game is coming on that particular day."
Team India have never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup encounter. The Virat Kohli-led side will hope to maintain their winning streak against their arch-rivals.
"That much hype and emotional pressure will not be there" - Gautam Gambhir
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Gautam Gambhir feels that the matches happening thick and fast towards the latter stages of the group phase will also be to Team India's advantage. He elaborated:
"When you are playing against Pakistan on the 24th, then probably that much hype and emotional pressure will not be there on the players. Plus the important thing is that after the first match, you have a six-day break, but after that when you play against New Zealand, post that you are playing back to back, which somewhere or the other is a huge positive."
India's matches against New Zealand, Afghanistan and the two qualifiers are scheduled between October 31 and November 8.