Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Gautam Gambhir said Pakistan will be under a “lot of pressure” when they will face off India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE.
India will begin their campaign against its arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24 at Dubai International Stadium in the T20 World Cup 2021. The much-anticipated encounter between India and Pakistan is the opening match of Group 2, featuring New Zealand, Afghanistan, and two other qualifying teams.
In the T20 World Cup, India and Pakistan have met 5 times with the Men in Blue winning all of them so far and Gambhir said the head-to-head record is in favor of the 2007 T20 World Cup winners and it will put pressure on Babar Azam-led side, thanks to the added burden of expectations in the big-ticket clash.
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Gambhir said on Star Sports show Game Plan ICC T20 WC Schedule: “I am sure it will add a lot of pressure on Pakistan because India has got 5-0 on Pakistan (World Cups). We should not be talking about whether there will be pressure on India, there is going to be a lot of pressure on Pakistan because the expectations are going to be high in Pakistan as well.”
He further added, “At the moment if you see, India is far superior to Pakistan. Yes, in a T20 format, anyone can beat anyone because it is a very individual kind of format, and we should not take any team for granted. For example, you should not take teams like Afghanistan for granted. People like Rashid Khan can create upsets. But, yes, there will be pressure on Pakistan.”
The 2011 World Cup winner also recalled India’s victory in the first match in the 2007 T20 World Cup against Pakistan, saying they were able to focus on the rest of the tournament better after that win.
Gambhir recalled, “When we won the 2007 T20 World Cup, our first game was against Scotland which was washed out. Practically, our first game was against Pakistan. That's exactly what I mentioned. It's important to play Pakistan in the early stages of the competition. You don't want to keep thinking about Pakistan. You can finish it off early and then concentrate on the rest of the tournament. It's going to be the same for the fans and the rest of the country. In fact, I am really happy for both countries that they are going to play against each other early.”
Meanwhile, Gambhir said Afghanistan is the real underdogs in the T20 World Cup 2021 and nobody should take them lightly in the showpiece event in the UAE and Oman.
He added, “You can't take Afghanistan lightly as well. I have always been a believer that if you want to talk about one team that is going to be a real underdog in this tournament, that must be Afghanistan. Additionally, they have got people like Rashid, Mujeeb, and Nabi, you can't take them lightly.”
Explaining why Group 1 comprising England, Australia, South Africa, the West Indies, and two qualifiers from Round 1 is the actual group of death, he said: “Group 1 is the group of death, and that's actually the real group. You've got four teams locked in and playing what, on day one of the T20 World Cup, that's going to be a very exciting Saturday.”
Gambhir signed off by saying, “West Indies have always been very unpredictable with the kind of firepower they've got -- they can go on to win the third time as well. England has also got the firepower; they have probably got the most consistent white-ball team over the last couple of years -- after winning the 50-over World Cup. Australia has literally gone off the radar, probably because a lot of main players are missing, but then again, I think they can be very dangerous on that particular day.”
(With ANI/IANS Inputs)
