World Cup 2023: 5 Reasons why India can beat Pakistan

The ICC World Cup 2023 will see India and Pakistan clash for the 8^th time in the ICC event. The match will be played on October 14 in front of more than 100,000 people at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. It is the biggest cricket stadium in the world, fit to host such a huge match.

India holds a 7-0 lead over Pakistan in the ODI World Cups. The two teams first met in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and since then, the Men in Blue have dominated the proceedings against their arch-rivals. The two sides also met twice in knockout matches in the 1996 World Cup quarter-final and the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup.

Most recently the two sides clashed in the Asia Cup 2023 which saw Pakistan being demolished in the Super 4s match in Colombo. India handed them their biggest ODI defeat by runs, beating them by 228 runs. Even in the Group game, after Pakistan took the lead, India fought back well from 66/4 to post 266 runs.

This makes the fans from both sides wonder what would be the result of the upcoming World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan. This is what is analysed in this article, as to why India holds the edge over Pakistan when the two sides meet in Ahmedabad in the ODI World Cup 2023. 

Here are the 5 reasons why India can beat Pakistan in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023:

1. Indian batting in top form with both top and middle order firing

Indian batting unit fired big time in the Asia Cup 2023 tournament. Both the top order of the Indian team and the middle order did well. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave fiery starts at the top barring the group match against Pakistan. Rohit hit three fifties in the tournament, while Gill made two fifties and one century and averaged 87.5 as a pair, a figure you can't ignore.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul decimated the Pakistan bowling attack in the Super 4s match, hitting unbeaten tons. But when India was in trouble in Kandy against Pakistan, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan came good with brilliant knocks under pressure. 

On the other hand, Pakistan writhed with the bat throughout the tournament barring the run-fest against Nepal. Babar Azam, who should’ve led from the front, failed to do so apart from 151 against Nepal. No batter showed consistency with the bat as opener Fakhar Zaman and Imam Ul Haq didn’t give good starts. The Men in Green’s over-dependence on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan was evident. And when they failed, the team struggled.