New York: Prepare yourself, on Sunday, the greatest rivalry in cricket history is scheduled to restart, but this time it will take place in the United States, a foreign land for both parties.
Tens of millions of South Asian fans will be glued to their TV screens when Rohit Sharma’s India take on Babar Azam’s team in their Group A match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The lucky ones, however, will be filling every seat in the 34,000-capacity stadium, which was constructed earlier this year. It should come as no surprise that the highly anticipated event’s tickets sold out months in advance.
India, the world’s top T20 team, must be fired up for the high-stakes match after defeating Ireland by eight wickets in the group opener at the same venue. On the other hand, Pakistan, who were shocked by the US in their first match in a Super Over at Dallas and are ranked 18th on the ICC team rankings, must significantly improve their game.
Pakistan’s hopes of making it to the 20-nation spectacle’s Super Eight stage will be greatly reduced by a defeat in today’s game.
Looking at the head-to-head T20 record between the bitter rivals, India has a commanding lead with nine wins in 12 games—including a Super Over victory. Pakistan, which is now ranked sixth in the ICC T20 team rankings, has only won one game out of seven in the T20 World Cup, making the statistics even more lopsided. The green shirts’ lone victory, by ten wickets, came in the Dubai group stage of the 2021 World Cup.
But Pakistan’s recently appointed head coach for white ball cricket, Gary Kirsten, is still upbeat.
“The athletes from Pakistan are gifted. They have their sights set on tomorrow’s match and intend to give it their all when playing India. At a press conference held prior to the play at Cantiague Park on Saturday, South African Kirsten stated, “We have forgotten the result of the first match [against the US].”
The team would play according to a strategy, according to the former Test opener who recently joined the Pakistan team.
“I anticipate a positive outcome. The fact that both India and Pakistan are playing one other in the United States for the first time makes this match extremely important, the coach noted, adding that American grounds typically favour bowlers.
“T20 is a totally different ball game,” Kirsten said. As we saw in our Dallas encounter against the US, things can change drastically in these games.
In response to a question, he stated that all-rounder Imad Wasim was now totally fit and may play against India. Imad’s side strain kept him out of the US encounter.
The coach felt that fielding was crucial to a team’s ability to achieve its goals.
According to Kirsten, the final lineup has not yet been decided.
The coach hinted that Pakistan might use a mix of quick and spin bowlers in today’s encounter when he remarked, “All [the] bases for the match should be covered.”
At Cantiague Park, the Pakistani cricket team participated in an extensive net practise session.
“BALL BY BALL,” AS ROHIT SEES IT
Rohit stated earlier on Saturday that his team will win the match on Sunday, ball by ball and over by over, and that playing excellent cricket is the secret to success.
At his pre-match press conference, the captain declared, “We want to kneel them [Pakistan] down over by over.” He had just finished a net practise session at Cantiague Park, a short distance from the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
“We intend to concentrate on each ball and every over, instead of focusing on the entire session,” declared the 37-year-old opener who has played in 152 Twenty20 Internationals.
“We need to win every over to win the match since a T20 alters after every over. I have faith that tomorrow will bring about positive outcomes.
In response to a question regarding the track in New York, Rohit stated that he was unsure of the drop-in pitches.
“Imagine what our ideas would be—[the] curators are also perplexed about the Nassau County pitches,” Rohit remarked, adding that his team would proceed with their approach regardless of how the pitch is received.
When asked about his reliance on one or two players, captain Virat Kohli responded that he was not depending on the master hitter, who has an outstanding average of 51.11 in 118 T20 Internationals.
“Virat is unquestionably a vital player and performer in important games. However, everyone must contribute; it is everyone’s duty to play well in order for the team to win two points, according to right-handed Rohit.
The Indian skipper stated that his squad was not under any pressure following their losses to Pakistan in the 2022 T20 Asia Cup and the 2021 World Cup, and he added that he made decisions based on the circumstances at the time.
In response to a question concerning his aggressive batting strategy, Rohit stated that he aimed to play with balance while simultaneously applying pressure to the opposition bowlers.
“We aim to bat aggressively to get runs quickly because we are playing with eight batters,” he stated.
Regarding Pakistan’s loss to the United States in Twenty20 cricket, the Indian captain stated that anything can happen in this format.
Rohit said, “They [Pakistan] made a tremendous return and competed in the final. Zimbabwe won the previous T20 World Cup [2022].
