Historically, whenever Pakistan’s backs are against the wall, they tend to punch above their weight. Harsha Bhogle put it perfectly, “Every time you make Pakistan favourites, they find a way to lose; you rule them out, and they’ll come out and play wow cricket.” For this reason alone, despite all the pessimism, beating India on Saturday would be the most Pakistan thing ever.
Enough has been said about the USA game over the past couple of days. It’s time to move on to new opponents and a new pitch. At Eisenhower Park, winning the toss will be crucial for gaining an early advantage, not just in deciding whether to bat or bowl first, but also in dictating the game’s tempo.
Every one of the last five T20 World Cup clashes between the two arch-rivals has been won by the chasing team, and I doubt this one will be any different. Both teams will need to quickly assess and adapt to the pitch conditions on match day, as the nature of the pitch (fresh or used) will significantly impact the game’s dynamics. This is where India holds a distinct advantage, having already played two games at this tricky venue. The highest score here so far in the World Cup is a mere 137, which Canada successfully managed to defend by 12 runs.
However, weather forecasts are casting a shadow over this highly anticipated encounter. According to Accuweather, there’s a 51% chance of rain around the game time. A shortened match might actually play in Pakistan’s favour, as expecting this lineup to bat a full 20 overs on this New York pitch seems a bit of a stretch.
Expected Lineups
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan: Mohammed Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf
So, besides ‘qudrat ka nizam’ , you might be wondering what reasons I have for not completely writing off Pakistan. Well, they were left dumbfounded in the last game because for the past year they’ve been told to change their style and aim for 200 runs in every match.
Ironically, these are the conditions where the Pakistan of 2021–22 would have thrived. All the games in the USA so far suggest that teams need a few batters who can anchor the innings while others play more aggressively. This is a shift from the recent trend of having multiple aggressive batters in a T20 lineup. Pakistan’s sheet anchors, Babar and Rizwan, need to return to their default settings and take the game deep, a skill they possess in abundance.
The importance of a good start is amplified by the fact that teams have found it tough to recover from early setbacks in this World Cup. So far, teams that haven’t lost more than one wicket in the powerplay while batting first have gone on to defend their scores (Canada being the lone exception). And if there’s one thing we know for sure about Rizwan and Babar, it’s that they can eat up deliveries and anchor an innings with ease. Caution, more than aggression, will be key in the powerplay.
Another major boost for Pakistan is the confirmed return of Imad Wasim, as announced by coach Gary Kirsten earlier today. This adds a valuable all-rounder option for Pakistan, offering both batting depth and another bowling dimension.
Interestingly, Imad Wasim recently highlighted the often overlooked impact of wind on bowlers’ ability to control swing and find the right areas in this part of the world. His wisdom and experience in this regard could prove invaluable for Pakistan in navigating the conditions at Eisenhower Park.
Most importantly, though, tricky surfaces and outfields like the one at Nassau County are some of the greatest levellers in cricket. What teams lack in talent can be made up for through smart utilization of the conditions.
The two-paced nature and uneven bounce of this pitch will be a godsend for the Pakistani pace attack. Plus, the Indian openers’ weakness against left-arm seam could be exposed here (Rohit and Kohli have been dismissed 13 and 4 times by left-arm seamers in T20I Powerplays since 2016).
The stakes of the game have never been higher for Pakistan; it’s now a do-or-die situation, a scenario that feels all too familiar. But Pakistani cricket is, as always, predictably unpredictable. There are plenty of reasons not to write them off just yet. In fact, I’d go so far as to say, sell your houses and put all the money on Pakistan — the result is almost hysterically predictable at this point.
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