T20 World Cup 2022: 3 Reasons why Pakistan can beat India

India and Pakistan are set to collide on October 23 in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium. The arch-rivals have given fans some nail-biting thrillers in the recent past and the same can be expected in the highly anticipated clash.

Generally, India have had a wood over Pakistan at the multi-nation tournaments. But this trend has changed lately. In the last three encounters between the arch-rivals, it has been the Men in Green who have stood tall on more occasions and the same could be the case when the Asian Giants collide at the marquee event.

Let us look at the reasons why Pakistan can beat India in T20 World Cup 2022:

1. The solid opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have been the pillars of Pakistan's batting lineup for the last couple of years. They have been the most prolific opening pair in the international circuit and have piled on 2065 runs in 40 innings batting together. Babar and Rizwan were the chief architects when the Men in Green thrashed India by 10 wickets in the last year’s World Cup and can again lead their team to victory.

Moreover, Pakistan’s openers have been in a pristine touch of late. They were the top two run-getters in the recently culminated T20I series against England. Rizwan amassed 316 in six games at a strike rate of 138.60 whereas Babar aggregated 285 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 143.22. The wicket-keeper batter was quite sensational in the Asia Cup 2022 as well and scored 281 in six games.

Rizwan has been prolific against the Men in Blue too and has aggregated 193 runs in just three outings. He has gotten the better of the Indian bowling attack most of the time and with Babar getting back amongst the runs, the veteran pair could snatch the game from Rohit Sharma & Co.