Pakistan have beaten India in Dubai twice and will look for their third victory at the Dubai International Stadium over their arch-rivals in Sunday’s Champions Trophy clash. That’s what their senior pacer Haris Rauf had asserted on Friday.
It’s certainly good to see such confidence from Pakistan even after the hammering they got against New Zealand in Karachi in the tournament opener last Wednesday. But
do they actually have the repertoire needed to trump this Indian team in their must-win game? Despite the absence of bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, this Indian side is still loaded with power-performers.
Such words from Rauf or any other Pakistani cricketer will only sound nice if they can outsmart Rohit Sharma’s India. Quality and skills-wise, Team India have been a few good miles ahead of Pakistan for the last decade or so. The gap has been steadily expanding in the last couple of years.
The respective campaign openers of the two teams are also an indication of their capabilities. In pretty good batting conditions in Karachi, Pakistan couldn’t even get close to New Zealand’s 320-run total, losing by 60 runs. India, on a Dubai track that got sluggish as the game progressed, overcame tricky periods to chase down a 229-run target against Bangladesh without much fuss.
Besides, on that batsman-friendly Karachi track, Pakistan had limped to 22/2 in the first Powerplay. On the other hand, Rohit and his fellow opener Shubman Gill blasted 69 inside the first 10 overs on a tricky wicket in Dubai.
Pakistan will need someone in their line-up to bat like Gill, to anchor the innings and yet not waste too many balls in challenging conditions. Do they have someone? Babar Azam was certainly capable of it a few years ago, but has fallen from grace in the last two years.
The Dubai pitch for Sunday isn’t likely to be too different. Although one believes India will not be tinkering with their winning combination, a tweak or two in the XI still cannot be ruled out. Regardless of the combination India go in with, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and the other bowlers will feel confident against the struggling Pakistan batting group, which doesn’t even have Fakhar Zaman now.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has employed former batting all-rounder Mudassar Nazar (76 Tests and 122 ODIs) to help the team adapt to the conditions in Dubai.
For India, the danger man could be captain Mohammad Rizwan. The Pakistan captain appears to be best equipped to lay down the gauntlet.
Also a concern for Rohit’s team is the Pakistan new-ball attack featuring Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. If Rohit can take the pace duo on and get India off to a flier again with a steady Gill at the other end, the task should get easier for India. That may ease the going out there in the middle for Virat Kohli too.
