After a gap of a little over a year, arch-rivals India and Pakistan are ready to face each other again…
“That’s up in the air. And it’s all over, Pakistan wins!” Ramiz Raja’s voice echoed in my head as I heard the news which every fan of the Indo-Pak rivalry craves to hear these days. Another showdown had been confirmed on the 19th of September 2018. Ever since the Champions Trophy last year, fans on both sides of the border, and across the world, have had their fingers crossed – hoping against hope that they would be able to witness the mother of all rivalries in the Asia Cup. It seems their prayers have been answered.
Unlike the last encounter, Pakistan appears a much stronger side on paper, one which cannot be easily written off. The likes of Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, and Faheem Ashraf though still relatively new, now at least have a few matches under their belt. In fact, the current form of each of these players provides Pakistan with the momentum and confidence which it needs before going into this encounter.
From being a 17-year-old who joined the navy, Fakhar Zaman had to travel thousands of miles – both literally and figuratively – before breaking a new record for Pakistan https://t.co/RE5VgMvbaw
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 21, 2018
And while the young blood of Pakistan promises to bring heaps of energy with it to the field to keep the whole team motivated, the fact that most of the senior players of the team are also having positive patches in their careers ensures that these young players will get plenty of opportunities to look up to and draw inspiration from their more experienced counterparts. Be it Shoaib Malik with the bat, or Muhammad Amir with the bowl, we all know how both give an extra 10% above their best when playing against India. All in all, the victory in the tri-series followed by that rain of records in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe means that all engines of the Pakistani team are a go.
But considering what the Pakistani team is up against, one realizes that they’re going to need it because the Indian team has been on a roll for quite some time now. Despite their recent ODI series defeat in England, the Indian team has evolved to become one of the top teams in world cricket today. The fast bowling department had long been the biggest chink in their armour which their opponents could and generally did exploit, but now that they’ve found respectable fast bowlers they have gradually turned into a force which is difficult to reckon with.
On September 19, India and Pakistan will face off for the first time since the 2017 Champions Trophy final https://t.co/uQslG7t4BQ #AsiaCup
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 25, 2018
“A good athletic side filled with match winners.” If the current Indian team were to be described in one short sentence that would probably be it. Each Indian batsman has the ability to completely turn the tables. And if their bowlers get going, they too can be deadly on their day. Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli, Raina, Dhoni, Pandya, one match winner after another – and most of them too in purple patches of their careers. The way they literally crushed Afghanistan and Ireland gives one a sneak peak into what they can do to their oppositions. And while Pakistan is no Afghanistan or Ireland, the Pakistani team will need to be wary of the fact that the Indians will be looking to settle some past debts by winning as comprehensively as they possibly can so that they may salvage some lost pride.
On paper the Indian team still seems to have the upper hand, but only a fool will predict the outcome of a match in which Pakistan is playing. Will Pakistan be able to repeat what they did in the final of the Champions Trophy, or will India crush Pakistan to avenge their past defeat? Only time will tell!