World Cup 2019: 5 aspects in which Pakistan will give stiff challenge to India when they face-off

Whenever India and Pakistan face off on a cricket field, It is much more than just a cricket match. But when India take on Pakistan on June 16 at Manchester it is going to be bigger than ever before given the political standoff between the two nations recently. The team that wins will get reception of war heroes when they arrive back in their country regardless of how they perform in the World Cup after that. On the other hand, the team that loses might want to travel somewhere else rather than returning to their country immediately post the World Cup. Needless to say that India has started as Cup favourites and enter the showpiece event as the world’s No.2 ranked ODI side. While Pakistan, on the other hand, Pakistan is ranked 6th in ICC ODI rankings and have just come off an 11 match losing streak. But as history suggests, Pakistan can never ever be written off and they showed it when they beat the hosts and tournament favourites England by 14 runs. Let’s look at the 5 things that India need to be wary of against Pakistan. 1. The Mohammad Amir factor Mohammad Amir. (Photo Source: Twitter) Every Indian fan will remember the spell that Amir bowled against India in the Champions trophy final of 2017 when he took out India’s famed top 3 for just 16 runs. Amir’s record particularly against Rohit Sharma is very impressive and given his form in the last 2 matches, he is going to be Pakistan’s trump card with the new ball. So it is important for India to see off his first spell and don’t give him wickets with the new ball. Also, Indian batsmen traditionally struggle against left-arm seamers, and if the conditions are overcast which can happen very frequently in England, it makes Amir even more dangerous. 2. Need to get rid of the opening stand Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Just like Amir with the ball in the Champions Trophy final, it was Fakhar Zaman’s century with the bat that had propelled Pakistan to 338 in that final. Imam, on the other hand, has been in tremendous touch leading up to the World Cup. If India has to restrict Pakistan, then they need to get rid of these openers cheaply. Imam and Fakhar, both have scored big centuries against England in the recently concluded series and Fakhar is also one of the only 6 batsmen to have scored a Double century in the ODI Cricket. 3. Babar Azam – Pakistan’s Virat Kohli? Babar Azam. (Photo Source: Twitter) Micheal Clarke recently called Babar Azam as Pakistan’s Virat Kohli. This might seem to be an overrated statement, but if numbers are anything to go by then Babar Azam is among the best-limited overs batters in the world currently. He also finished the recently concluded England-Pakistan series as the joint highest run-getter with 277 runs in 5-match. He might not be on the ranking top list yet but he surely is on his way to becoming one of the best-limited overs batsmen of modern times. Also batting at No.3, he is an outstanding player of spin bowling and that could be a big problem since India rely heavily on their wrist spinners to pick wickets in the middle overs. 4. Professor Hafeez – the all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez. (Photo Source: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images) With 138 ODI Wickets, he is the second highest wicket-taker In ODI’s in Pakistan’s World Cup Squad. The fact that he can get into the playing 11 solely as a batsman as well speaks volumes of his all-round abilities. With a player of Hafeez’s experience at No.4, it gives the players like Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik a perfect platform of finishing the innings and Hafeez also gives his captain a perfect 6th bowling option so he can pick an extra batsman. Also with Hafeez there in the side, it gives Sarfaraz an experienced player he can take advise from as and when needed, just like Virat Kohli does with MS Dhoni. 5. Swing king – Wahab Riaz Wahab Riaz. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) Before the start of Pakistan’s match against England, Wahab Riaz’s last 20 overs in the UK had gone for 237 runs picking just 1 wicket. In the match against England as well he conceded 82 runs but crucially, he also picked up 3 key wickets and most importantly, he was bowling quick and also got a fair bit of reverse swing. Also, not to forget that in his spell against England, there were a lot of outside edges which went for runs of his bowling, if the captain had kept a slip in place, he would have picked few more wickets and conceding fewer runs. An in-form Wahab is exactly what Pakistan needed. His ability was never in doubt, Remember that spell he bowled to Shane Watson at the 2015 World Cup? Well, India will definitely hope that it isn’t that fiery Wahab that turns up against them. ~Written by Parth Parekh

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World Cup 2019: 5 aspects in which Pakistan will give stiff challenge to India when they face-off

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