ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: 3 Batsmen Who Can Create an Impact at India vs Pakistan Game

Virat Kohli's India are ready to lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan at the ongoing ICC cricket World Cup 2019 in Manchester on Sunday. India are right now at the third spot on the points table with two wins and a match abandoned due to rain, while Pakistan have managed to win only one of its four matches. However, Pakistan's strike bowler Mohammad Amir has been in terrific form thus far and legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has even warned Virat Kohli and his Men in Blue to exercise caution against the Pakistani pace battery.

With the tumultous clash mere days away, here are three batsmen one needs to look out for who can change the course of the game with their technical abilities and passionate embrace of cricketing spirit.

India

Virat Kohli: The current number 1 ODI batsman as of now, the 30-year-old Indian skipper has a slightly unconventional technique. Kohli is able to judge the length of the ball earlier than most others and has amazingly quick wrists to run his hands through the ball, even against fast bowlers. He is equally adept against pace and spin bowling. With over 10 thousand runs under his belt in ODIs and a strike rate of 137.4 in T20 Internationals, Kohli's channeled aggression at bowling attacks is something both opposition and the audience will have to look out for.

Rohit Sharma: Ranked at number 2 in ODIs, the right-handed batsman from Maharashtra has a strike rate of 87.86 in ODIs and has 8,189 runs in 208 games. Known for his talented batting abilities, the Mumbai teenager shot to the limelight when he scored a brisk unbeaten triple-hundred at the Ranji level. While he had a stellar start to his career after an injury to an in-form Yuvraj Singh in the 2007 World T20, saw him as a last-minute emergency replacement, the IPL has kept him much in the news as he won the IPL title as a skipper record four times for Mumbai Indians.

Pakistan

Babar Azam: The 24-year-old Pakistan right-handed batsman is at number 8 in ICC ODI rankings and has scored 1,235 runs in just 21 matches. With three consecutive ODI tons against the Windies in 2016 in the UAE Babar Azam has proved to be a dependable number 3 in the shorter formats of the game. The quickest cricketer after Quinton De Kock to score five ODI centuries, Azam is currently placed at 16 in the ICC World Cup points table.