The plan was to not give Pakistan a chance in any way: Sunil Gavaskar

Renowned former India legend Sunil Gavaskar emphasized that India's strategy for their highly anticipated ODI World Cup 2023 encounter against Pakistan, was to leave no room for any opportunities for their archrivals. Team India secured a convincing seven-wicket victory over the Men in Green at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India went on to successfully chase down the 192-run target with 19.3 overs to spare. 

In the same vein, the 'Little Master' revealed that India's deliberate strategy was to deny Pakistan any openings, capitalizing on their earlier dismissal as Pakistan collapsed to a mere 191 runs after being invited to bat first. Furthermore, he also emphasised what could have been a potential threat for India in the form of Shaheen Afridi given the speedster had delivered.

“Having dismissed Pakistan for 191, the plan was to not give them a chance in any way. The main danger was Shaheen Shah Afridi because if he could get 2-3 early wickets then that could cause a bit of panic in the team. However, we've seen how India recovered against Australia,” Gavaskar said during an interaction with Star Sports.

Also Check: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table

Gavaskar left impressed by Rohit’s flick off the very first delivery of India's innings

Continuing his remarks, the 74-year-old highlighted that the Indian opening batters displayed a proactive approach against Pakistan's fast bowlers, by immediately launching their attacking game right from the very first delivery. Notably, Rohit Sharma set the tone by striking a boundary off Shaheen Afridi's opening ball in the second innings that left the ODI World Cup winning legend, awestruck. 

“So, the first ball that Rohit faced, on the pads swinging in and he just flicked it aerially for a lovely boundary, off the middle of the bat. One bounce and into the fence. So that was showing intent. They were not going to be over-awed by his record against us,” Gavaskar further added.

After their victorious encounter against Pakistan, India will shift their focus to the upcoming match against Bangladesh, scheduled to take place on October 19 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Currently, India holds the leading position on the points table, having secured three wins in as many matches, with an impressive Net Run Rate (NRR) of 1.821, thereby surpassing New Zealand's 1.604.

Also Check: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table