T20 World Cup: India are the superior side, Pakistan will be under a lot of pressure: Gambhir
Former India captain Gautam Gambhir has said that it is not India but Pakistan that will be under pressure when the two main rivals meet in the highly anticipated T20 World Cup match on October 24 in Dubai.
The ICC on Tuesday announced the fixtures for the T20 World Cup and the highly-awaited clash between the arch-rivals caught the attention of the cricket world.
India and Pakistan have not met in a bilateral series since 2013 and their fixtures at ICC events have become chartbusters. At the T20 World Cup stage, India and Pakistan have met 5 times with India winning all of them so far. India last played Pakistan at the 50-over World Cup in England in 2019 and comfortably clinched a win, avenging their defeat at the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
Gambhir said the head-to-head record in favour of India and the burden of expectations will put pressure on Pakistan ahead of the big-ticket encounter.
“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.
“At the moment if you see, India is far superior to Pakistan. Yes, in a T20 format, anyone can beat anyone. We should not take any team for granted, teams like Afghanistan can create upsets. It’s the same with Pakistan. But there will be pressure on Pakistan,” Gambhir told Star Sports Cricket Connected.
Important to play Pakistan early in a major tournament: Gambhir
Gambhir, meanwhile, pointed out that India and Pakistan will be relieved to get the high-voltage encounter out of their way early in the tournament. Gambhir recalled that India won their first match at a T20 World Cup against Pakistan in 2007 and were able to focus on the rest of the tournament better.
In fact, India and Pakistan met in the final of the T20 World Cup in 2007. Misbah-ul-Haq’s heroics went in vain as MS Dhoni-led India clinched a thriller to be crowned champions in the inaugural edition of the tournament.
“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,” he said.
“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 and 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,” he added.
India have been drawn alongside Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup while 2 qualifiers will join them for the Super 12 stage.
