Former England spinner Monty Panesar feels that Pakistan will be under pressure against India in the upcoming T20 World Cup clash. The Asian neighbours will re-ignite their rivalry on the pitch at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Pakistan have failed to beat India in the ICC World Cup events which will give Virat Kohli and Co an edge over them. The last time when both teams faced each other in the 2019 ODI WC India registered an emphatic 89-run win (via DLS) over their arch-rivals.
Panesar said that Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are going to be the game-changers for Pakistan. However, the former England spinner claimed that India can destroy Pakistan like a pack of cards if they managed to get Babar out early.
“For Pakistan, Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi. Shaheen is a wonderful left-arm seamer and he will eye more and more Indian wickets. I am sure Virat and KL Rahul have enough practice against the left-arm seamers. If India bowlers get rid of Babar Azam early, they can destroy Pakistan like a pack (house) of cards," Panesar told Times of India.
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Panesar also chose the game-changers for India and said that the spin-duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will hold the key for India in the T20 WC.
“For me, it will be Ashwin (India’s game-changer). He has got so much unpredictability. And Ravindra Jadeja. He is a game-changer with both bat and ball. He had a wonderful tournament with Chennai Super Kings. Both of them are going to be key campaigners, because Ashwin can be wonderful in the powerplay and also in the death overs. He has done so well. If Jadeja and Ashwin perform well, India will win the T20 World Cup," he added.
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Jadeja has been one of the most consistent performers for India in all three departments. The southpaw played a crucial role in Chennai Super Kings title-winning campaign in IPL 2021 as he scored 227 runs at a sublime average of 75.66 and claimed 13 wickets. Meanwhile, Ashwin has returned to India’s limited-overs set-up after more than four years.
Panesar further claims that India will have an upper hand over Pakistan considering their overall records.
“On their day, they can beat any team in the world. Pakistan are really motivated this time and wouldn’t spare any team. But India will have an upper hand, considering their overall records against Pakistan. Pakistan will be under pressure, not India," the former spinner said.
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