Pakistan are a good T20 side and have won more games than any other team. They are also the only team to make the semifinals of all editions of the T20 world cup, writes Sourav Ganguly in his column in Hindustan Times, adding that they have a good balance with the bat and ball and their spinners are world-class.
“The biggest difference between India and Pakistan is the quality of bowling. Although India possess a better batting line-up, the Pakistan attack is better. India had a tough game against Australia; they were outplayed and that can happen in T20. It was a game India would want to forget quickly. They have been in good form with wins against Afghanistan and England and quickly need to get their confidence back,” writes Ganguly, adding that what will help India is that they have never been beaten by Pakistan in a world cup game and in the recent past, their record against the arch-rivals has been terrific.
“This is a high-pressure game for India but they've been in this situation before, and come out victorious. Dhoni will have to solve a few puzzles before this game. The question he'll have to ask himself is should he go in with five bowlers, and the answer is yes. Then, we come to the openers. India need a quality player at the top,” says Ganguly, adding that with due respect to Irfan Pathan, I feel he would be more useful at No. 7. His technique is good but not good enough to play the new ball and get a big score. Scoring big runs is more than technique and one needs to have a habit of doing that. So, there is a strong possibility of getting Virender Sehwag at the top of the order or even getting Virat Kohli to open with Gautam Gambhir,” adds Ganguly.
According to a report in Khaleej Times, India-Pakistan matches always bring best out of the players and that it will be the match of the tournament and both teams will start afresh in what should be a high octane game.
“Pakistan have not beaten India in World Cup or World T20 matches so far. These harsh realities might weigh heavily on players’ minds in today’s match. Although Pakistan chased 186 in a warm-up match to beat India by five wickets, their batting still looks wobbly at times,” says the report adding that they almost gave in against South Africa chasing a modest total of 133 until Umar Akmal and Umar Gul came to their rescue to register an unlikely victory on Friday.
“They have done well against New Zealand, chased 176 against Bangladesh but against quality bowling like Australia and England they have struggled recently,” says the report.
Meanwhile a Mail Today report says that when circumstances force one to stay hungry for a while, even a mini T20-sized meal appears a rather attractive proposition and so it is with India-Pakistan matches.
“The arch rivals have played just four One-Day Internationals since the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai- at the 2009 Champions Trophy, the 2010 and 2012 Asia Cups and, in between, the 2011 World Cup semi-final. But when they meet here on Sunday, there will be more than bragging rights at stake,” says the report, adding that for India, it is a knockout game.
“Their defeat to Australia has pushed them to the brink, and the enormity of the margin has made it impossible for them to depend on net run rate. Mahendra Singh Dhoni needs to motivate his troops, analyse what went wrong and rack his brains about how to tackle the strong Pakistani bowling line-up, which choked South Africa into submission on Friday, though their batsmen huffed and puffed over the line,” says the report, adding that Dhoni tried to put a positive spin on the impending clash when he said, "It is always good to be in a situation where you have to win every game. There is no scope for complacency and that is a good thing. You have to be at your best throughout.