The fact that the two teams have not played each other much recently adds to the anticipation.  Also the return of Shoaib Akhtar and the drug-tainted Mohammad Asif besides the excellent Mohammad Aamer, makes the Pakistani bowling line up a formidable one.

India’s batsmen recently in the T20 World Cup showed that they were not the happiest against short-pitched bowling and with the Pakistani speedsters all playing, a rib roasting is on the cards.  That India are without their talisman, Sachin Tendulkar,  or the hugely experience Yuvraj Singh, who seems to relish playing Pakistan, will make them doubly vulnerable.

India’s woes extend to the bowling side too, with Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra looking a bit worn for wear, and with no Ishant Sharma they also have no real young speedster around to take the fight to the opposition.  India will have to rely a lot on Harbhajan Singh, who somehow does not do his best with the ball against the Pakistanis. 

The only vulnerability of the Pakistani’s is their batting which has looked pretty flaky at times.  However in Shahid Afridi they have a batsman who can change a game on his own, and who seems to enjoy batting against India.

So, if  one were to be clinical about it, Pakistan have an edge and should be considered favorites, though in an India-Pakistan match, the form book usually gets thrown out the window, as both teams treat this as a do or die contest, and the team performing on the day, wins the match.  This is what makes the contest so fascinating to watch.  So at least for a day, ditch the vuvuzelas and bring on the dhols.

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon
• Tweet