Rashid Latif feels that Pakistan can beat India in the T20 World Cup clash only if they play their best cricket, with the latter making mistakes on the field.
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Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes that Babar Azam-led Pakistan will struggle to pull off a triumph against India who are led by Virat Kohli, if the latter do not make mistakes on the field. The two arch-rivals are set to battle it out in their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 opener at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Pakistan have a poor record against India when it comes to encounters in cricket World Cups. They have failed to win a single game against the latter in either one-day or T20 formats.
“In my opinion, no matter how well Pakistan plays, if Indian players don’t make mistakes, then it will be difficult for Pakistan to win the match. 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,” Latif told Khaleej Times.
“We have to see what Virat does if he wins the toss, and what combination he will be play. 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 added.
Latif is however confident that Babar Azam-led Pakistan will deliver their best efforts to record a triumph.
“If you see the record, India have always won these matches in the World Cup. And before every World Cup game against them, we in Pakistan always say that this time we will win. So I am sure the Pakistan team will give their best to win this match tomorrow,” he said.
Former Team India opener Virender Sehwag believes that all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be crucial even as a batter for Team India, in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
“He’ll be on my team. The kind of batter he is, if he clicks, he’ll make the match one-sided, and finish it. He has the ability, which he has shown many times. Yes, if he was bowling fit, that would have been the icing on the cake. His batting is surely a concern. If he’s not in form or not batting well in the nets, then you can maybe see another batter, otherwise, he’ll be my first pick,” said Sehwag in an interaction with Cricbuzz.
“You should go with five bowlers plus if Hardik Pandya or someone else from the top-order bowls a few overs, it’ll be the perfect team for me,” added the opener.
It will certainly be interesting to see if Hardik fires against Pakistan.
