The second part of the double header in the T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday sees Group 2 of the Super 12 stage beginning with the blockbuster clash between arguably the two best teams in the section in India and Pakistan in Dubai.
Nobody needs me to tell them that these two sides don’t like each other very much and matches between the two are always fiercely passionate affairs and competitive in nature, although not necessarily always in result.
India
We will get the first real chance to see the credentials of the India team in this match. They looked good in their warm up matches but you have to take that form with a pinch of salt in the main. The pressure comes onto them here now the real stuff begins and as tournament favourites they are under pressure. The one advantage they have on most of the sides starting out in this competition is that their entire squad were playing in the Indian Premier League.
That is particularly an advantage here because none of the Pakistan team were. Better still the IPL was on these grounds so the Indian batsmen, and particularly bowlers, will have had the chance to assess conditions and come up with plans that will work for them moving forward in this tournament. You get the feeling that if India can perform with the bat then they are going to be very tough to stop in this event.
Pakistan
There is the obvious disadvantage of inactivity that Pakistan have to deal with, although to be fair to them they didn’t exactly look rusty during their warm up matches for this event, but on the plus side they will know all about these grounds because the UAE has been their home for a lengthy period while Pakistan cricket grounds were out of action so that is something they can use to their advantage at least.
Pakistan look to have the bowlers to go well in this tournament, and whether that means coming out on top in this match or dominating the group thereafter we’ll have to wait and see. This Pakistan batting unit has runs in it which you haven’t been able to say about all of the ones they have sent to this tournament in the past. Having runs in it is one thing, they now need to deliver on that and make sure they support their bowlers as well as they can.
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Key Men
KL Rahul has been in sparkling form in this format for a while. He is a regular topper of the run charts in the IPL, the last two seasons of which have been held in this part of the world. If he gets India off to a good start and sets the game up for the power to come he’ll have more than done his job.
Pakistan won’t just need the cool, calm captaincy of Babar Azam but they are going to need his runs as well. He is a true class act and if he can negate the Indian threats with the new ball and build into his innings and go bit he might just set the match up for his team.
Betting
This feels like a closer match than it looks on paper to me because Pakistan look to be arriving in decent nick and with a point to prove. I’m not sure whether they will win the match but the handicap for this one gives them a pretty big start and I fancy them to make the most of that. In years gone by I would worry about their batting but they have seven genuinely capable batsmen who should all be able to handle these conditions.
They also have a decent bowling attack and plenty of options with the ball too which will count for something. While India look strong, I still feel their fifth bowler could go and even one or two of the others are inexperienced at international level. That doesn’t mean India can’t win this but the matches we’ve had so far in this Super 12 stage have been pretty competitive affairs. Even here on Saturday, England lost four wickets chasing 55. The handicap feels a little too big in the conditions so I’ll play Pakistan here.
Tips
Back Pakistan (+4.5 wickets/16.5runs) to beat India for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
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