A historic victory against the Indian team in the 2021 T20 World Cup helped Pakistan in gaining the required momentum to excel in the tournament. The Babar Azam-led side’s 10-wicket win against India was Pakistan’s first victory against their arch-rivals in a World Cup event.
Pakistan might have secured their first World Cup win against India with sheer ease but former pacer Shoaib Akhtar feels that in their next encounter things will not be the same. Pakistan and India are set to face each other on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Two teams have been placed in Group 2.
Former Pakistan pacer feels that Men in Blue should choose the team “carefully.”
“India cannot go about and select a random team against Pakistan without defining their roles. I think the management should select the team carefully and I fully believe it will be a solid team. It won’t be a walkover for Pakistan this time around,” Akhtar was quoted as saying.
“If India picks the right squad for the tournament, then they have a very good chance of beating Pakistan. They are absolutely even teams at the moment, so it is very difficult to predict a result,” Akhtar further added.
In their last T20 World Cup meeting, batting first, the Virat Kohli-led side had registered a total of 151 runs losing seven wickets. Skipper Kohli played a solid knock of 57 off 49 balls and emerged as India’s highest run-scorer in the game.
Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi displayed an amazing bowling show to pick up three wickets against India.
Pakistan opening batters, during the run chase, exhibited a solid batting to reach the target with 13 balls remaining. Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Rizwan (79 not out off 55 balls) and skipper Babar Azam (68 not out off 52 deliveries) seemed simply unstoppable while facing a formidable Indian bowling lineup.
Eventually, Pakistan had reached the semi-final of the 2021 T20 World Cup but in the last four stage they had to concede a five-wicket defeat against the Aussies.
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