High Stakes for Old Rivals

VERY RARELY HAS it happened in the last few years that Pakistan starts on an even footing in a match against India in 50-over white-ball cricket. With no Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian team, it could well be the case in Dubai. Even if India are favourites, it is only just. And Pakistan will have reason to believe they can repeat what they did in the T-20 World Cup in the same stadium in November 2021.

The last time the two teams met in a Champions Trophy encounter, Pakistan, rather unexpectedly, beat India in the final in June 2017 at the Oval. What this match brings to the fore is how the tag of favourite hardly matters in an encounter like this. Just like in the Champions Trophy final in 2017, it all boils down to the day and one or two inspired performances in the course of the seven hours on the battlefield.

Just recently, Pakistan has chased down 350 against South Africa and made a statement. Even with Babar Azam not scoring as many and Saim Ayub out with an injury, Pakistan with Fakhar Zaman at the top has started to look dangerous. Zaman is not much talked about but it was his heroics that dented India at the Oval in 2017. He has all the shots in the book and once on song can take on any bowler on any surface. Also, he plays spin well and could be the man India will want to get quickly when the two teams meet on February 23 this year.

In bowling, Pakistan has a very good attack though both Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah haven’t been in great form. Shah, injury-prone to an extent, is now one of the most potent members of the Pakistan attack. He was impressive in patches against New Zealand and South Africa in the tri-series on very good batting decks and has historically done well in Dubai.

Afridi, the weakest of the Pakistani fast bowlers in current form, is always a threat on days that matter. Each of us remembers his spell against India in that T-20 World Cup encounter in Dubai when in his first two overs he had accounted for both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. With a ball that comes in at pace to the right-handers, Shaheen Afridi can cause real damage at the top of the order.

However, where Pakistan could have an issue is with Haris Rauf. He has been in excellent form and is the perfect foil for Afridi and Naseem Shah. However, he is now out with a side strain and could well miss the entire tournament. Finally, there is Faheem Ashraf, once the near-perfect pace bowling all-rounder for Pakistan. Ashraf wasn’t bad in the tri-series final against New Zealand, but many believe he made the team because of his political connections. With Afridi and Naseem Shah bowling from the other end, Ashraf often ends up picking up key wickets with the batsmen trying to take their chances against him. This attack, which in a sense has most bases covered, will rank as one of the better ones in white-ball cricket at the moment.

However, it is in the batting that Pakistan has made progress in the last 12 months. They are a team that has beaten Australia in Australia and South Africa in South Africa in the 50-over format and the recent loss in the tri-series final against New Zealand notwithstanding, have a batting lineup that can challenge most bowling attacks in the Champions Trophy. It will be interesting to see if they open with Usman Khan and Fakhar Zaman and push Babar Azam to number three versus India. It could give them the firepower at the top and set the stage for Babar, Rizwan Khan and Agha Salman. Babar Azam, who many argued at one point is as talented and capable as Virat Kohli, will have to step up if Pakistan has to tick the batting box. In Rizwan, Pakistan has a captain who has successfully kept the flock together and has also managed to get the best out of them on occasion. Not only did Rizwan win them a key series, he also led Pakistan to victory over Australia Down Under, a task always considered a major achievement for any cricketer.

A very good wicket-keeper batsman, Rizwan has managed to do one very important thing, which many others have struggled to do in the past—gain the acceptance of his teammates.

India on the other hand looks settled in the 50-over format. Boosted by the return of Varun Chakaravarthy and Mohammed Shami, India also has Kuldeep Yadav in the team, someone the Pakistan batsmen haven’t done well against. With two decently matched bowling units facing up to each other, it might all come down to the middle order. And that’s the one area where India is better off. Shreyas Iyer has been fantastic in the England series and could easily be the batter of the tournament if things go well for him. At number five, the Axar experiment has worked for Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma and if they want to go the conventional route, they have the tried and tested KL Rahul. At number six, India has its best white-ball player in Hardik Pandya. His ability to soak up the pressure makes Hardik the number one white-ball all-rounder in the team. On days he doesn’t score, he chips in with wickets and vice-versa. All genuine match winners, Iyer, Rahul and Hardik, give India an edge in the middle order. With Jadeja and Axar Patel to follow, it is a deep batting unit and maybe that’s where India is better than Pakistan.

But as I said at the start, such tags matter little in this battle of nerves when much more than cricket is played out there in the 22 yards. With all the political baggage that comes with an India-Pakistan contest and the backdrop of the drama surrounding India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan, this is the one game that could define the success of the Champions Trophy. A hard-fought game and the ICC could be laughing its way to the bank. A one-sided affair, however, will mean the tournament will lose a lot of sheen and the viability of the format will have been dented. For Pakistan, it is a must-win. In Champions Trophy head-to-head results, they are ahead 3-2 and will want to keep the record intact. India, way ahead in world cups, will want to get things back on track and beating Pakistan could mean Rohit and Gambhir get back the support of the fans back home.

In every sense, the stakes are high. The passion is very much there, and the demand for tickets has already peaked. Online tickets were all sold out within 30 minutes, and many wanting to travel from India are still searching for that elusive entry pass. India versus Pakistan in white-ball cricket is bigger than England versus Australia and February 23 is expectedto garner a television and digital audience of epic proportions. We can already feel the pulse with all to play for.

Champions TrophyDubaiIndia-PakistanIndian cricketT-20 World Cup MatchVirat Kohli