Will India maintain their all-win record against Pakistan in ODI World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad

Tribune News Service

Gaurav Kanthwal

Ahmedabad, October 13

Will India maintain their all-win record (7-0) against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium here tomorrow? A lot depends on how the two sides react to the conditions and match situations. It will also be the players’ ability to churn up spunk in a raging cauldron. The team that does it, walks away smiling in the end.

India’s batters or Pakistan’s pacers, who will deliver in the high-pressure game in front of a likely houseful crowd, expected to be above one lakh?

Past results confirm that there won’t be any chest bumps or victory laps this time too. “I am not a person who looks into all those kind of stats,” India captain Rohit Sharma said. “We’ve got to play good cricket on that particular day to win the game and that is what we will be focussing on. And how we are going to play good cricket, which is understanding the conditions, what is required from the team’s perspective and things like that,” he added.

Last time, the two acrimonious neighbours met in the World Cup in India, it turned out to be a facile 29-run win for the hosts in the semifinals of the 2011 edition in Mohali. Many spectators had left the stadium before Pakistan’s final wicket fell to avoid the last-minute rush. In Ahmedabad, questions remain over how many will actually turn up to see this leviathan raging tomorrow.

The nature of high-stakes games keeps the players jittery and hamstrung as they search for rhythm till the very end. “Rhythm is very important. If you look at it in other terms, it is called momentum,” Sharma said. “We have played seven or eight matches in India and before that in Sri Lanka and here too we played two matches of the World Cup. The bowlers have shown very good performances. Whether it is the spinners or the seamers, whenever they have got a chance to put pressure on the batsmen, they have done so. All the batsmen have scored runs,” he added.

Indian cricket’s poster boy Shubman Gill, recuperating from dengue and yet to make his ODI World Cup debut, is 99 per cent available for the match. That leaves very less scope for guesswork, especially as the Punjab opener is the leading run-getter in the format this year with 1,230 runs at an average of 72.35. In his last four ODIs, Gill has scored two tons and a half-century.

When in Ahmedabad, the 24-year-old has set the pulse racing — in February, he hit his maiden T20I hundred (126 not out) against New Zealand; a month later, he made a Test century (128) against Australia. His two IPL centuries (129 against Mumbai Indians and 101 against Sunrisers Hyderabad) make him a darling of Gujarat Titans’ fans. Will he have to wait to make his ODI World Cup debut anywhere else? Improbable.

A day ahead of the match, the star batsmen of both the teams did not say it in so many words that it is a batting-friendly pitch. “We have players for both the pitch conditions,” said Sharma.

In the 29 ODIs played here, the team batting first has won 16 games, while the team batting second has won 13 matches.

What makes the contest enticing is that both teams are on a two-game winning streak in this edition of the World Cup. The hosts outclassed Australia by six wickets in Chennai and then beat Afghanistan by eight wickets in New Delhi. Pakistan, on the other hand, beat Netherlands by 81 runs in their opener and then defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in a record chase under the lights in Hyderabad.

7-0 India vs Pakistan at ODI World Cup

1992

• India won by 43 runs in round robin game in Sydney
• Player of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar (54* off 62 & 1/37)

1996

• India won by 39 runs in quarterfinal in Bengaluru
• Player of the Match: Navjot Sidhu (93 off 115)

1999

• India won by 47 runs in Super Six in Manchester
• Player of the Match: Venkatesh Prasad (5/27)

2003

• India won by 6 wickets in Pool A game in Centurion
• Player of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar (98 off 75)

2011

• India won by 29 runs in semifinal in Mohali
• Player of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar (85 off 115)

2015

• India won by 76 runs in Pool B game in Adelaide
• Player of the Match: Virat Kohli (107 off 126)

2019

• India won by 89 runs in round robin game in Manchester
• Player of the Match: Rohit Sharma (140 off 113)

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Cricket #Narendra Modi #Pakistan