It isn’t overstating things to say that on Saturday, India and Pakistan will battle it out in the biggest T20 international between the two since they played in the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup Cricket tournament back in 2007.
India go into this match in desperate need of a win having been thrashed in their last game. Sometimes two wins can sneak you through these groups but their defeat to New Zealand was so heavy that their net run rate is almost unrepairable.
Pakistan had a very encouraging win in their first match and if they follow that up with a win here them and New Zealand will both have two wins and this group will almost be over in terms of deciding who progresses from it.
India came unstuck with the bat in a big way in their match against New Zealand and that was both a surprise and a rarity. They will need to bat a lot better to support their bowlers in this match but there might be some mental scars from the Asia Cup clash between the two so that will be interesting to look out for.
Although they batted so poorly against New Zealand their top six looks set in stone so unless they decide to change their bowling attack, which is unlikely, then I would expect them to name the same side that played in their opening match.
Pakistan were far too good for Bangladesh in their first match which was a bit of a surprise given the form of the two sides going into that match. For once Pakistan put up a sparkling effort with the bat and with the quality of their attack whenever they do that they will always have every chance.
Given the emphatic nature of that win it would be a massive surprise if Pakistan make any changes for this match. Any changes they do make would only be in response to the pitch but even if the pitch has changed in character I’m still expecting an unchanged team.
This is the third match at Eden Gardens and the wicket in the first two has been fairly good for batting but I’m expecting it to play a little bit tougher in this match given the hectic schedule of the event.
This match was only scheduled for this ground at late notice so it might be that there isn’t a track ready so this could be on a used pitch which will make batting tricky so the side who handles the conditions the best are likely to prevail.
History suggests India are most likely to win and I wouldn’t back against them but I can’t back them after such a wretched effort in their last game. I’m not sure I can back Pakistan after they were skittled for 80 odd the last time these two sides met so I’m off to the side markets for a bet.
In fairness there aren’t many here which interest me either but there is one and it is on the Virat Kohli total fours where a 2.5 line seems almost crazy low. On a minefield of a pitch when these two met in the Asia Cup, Kohli was the only one who scored any sort of big runs.
His 49 on that day was classy in its own right and he hit seven boundaries on a testing track which spoke volumes of the quality he has in his disposal. Although this isn’t the smallest ground Kohli scores all around the wicket and with the form he has in this format of the game I expect him to send three balls to the ropes at least.
WON – Back V.Kohli Over 2.5 fours for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
Back it here:
