No matter how well Pakistan play, India will win if they don't make mistakes: Rashid Latif

Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif feels that all India needs to do to win against Pakistan is not make mistakes. As per him, if Virat Kohli and his men could ensure that, they will win irrespective of how well Babar Azam’s and Co., perform.

“In my opinion, no matter how well Pakistan play, if Indian players don’t make mistakes, then it will be difficult for Pakistan to win the match”, he said.

Latif recalled his time as the Pakistan skipper and revealed how he used to focus on inducing errors from the opponent camp and later capitalize upon them.

“When I captained Pakistan, I always tried to induce errors from the opposition. Of course, you have to do your own job first, but at the same time, it’s important to make the other team commit mistakes. So, it’s not just about the technique or skills, it’s about tactics. You have to get your tactics right and try to make the other team commit errors”, he further added.

Latif further highlighted that Virat Kohli and India are spoilt for choices and are more likely to make a selection error because of the variety of options they have to choose from. “We have to see what Virat does if he wins the toss, and what combination he will be playing”, he said.

“Will he play Suryakumar Yadav? Or Ishan Kishan? Then you also have to see which spinners they will play. There is Varun Chakravarthy, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. So there is a chance of making a mistake by the captain in terms of picking the right players because you have so many options”, he also stated.

Notably, India leads the head-to-head record rather dominatingly, as they have handed defeats to Pakistan in the 50-over World Cups seven times in as many meets, while the story in the shortest format remains the same, where India has won all five of their encounters against. Going into the clash on October 24, India have a chance to extend their 12-0 streak, while Babar Azam’s Pakistan would be keen to not focus on history that reads entirely against them.