Shoaib Akhtar made a bold claim regarding the finalists for the upcoming T20 World Cup in UAE. The Rawalpindi Express feels it will be a repeat of the inaugural edition’s final in 2007 where India will lose to Pakistan.
The T20 World Cup remains the biggest and most-awaited cricketing event this year after it was postponed from Australia, 2020 to India, 2021 and was shifted from India to UAE all due to Covid-19. Set to be held soon after IPL 14’s conclusion in the UAE, the tournament will see 12 teams divided into groups of two in the main draw, after the qualifiers, which will be followed by the semi-finals and the marquee final.
Shoaib Akhtar Feels Pakistan Will Win Against India In The 2021 T20I World Cup Final Which Will Be A Repeat Of The Inaugural Edition(2007) Won By India
Ahead of the showpiece event in the UAE, many experts and former cricketers have already started sharing their predictions as to who will walk away with the title in the seventh edition of the T20 WC.
Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar, who doesn’t mince his words and remains a vocal critic of Pakistan cricket, feels the final will be a repeat of the inaugural edition, where Virat Kohli-led India will face-off Babar Azam’s Pakistan. However, Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar made heads turn by claiming that the Men in Green will storm past India in the summit clash.
“I have a feeling Pakistan and India will play in the T20 World Cup final and India will lose to Pakistan. Conditions in UAE will favour both India and Pakistan,” Shoaib Akhtar told Sports Tak on YouTube.
India has not lost to Pakistan in any World Cup, be it in the ODI or T20I format. Thus, Virat Kohli-led India has an 11-0 record versus their arch-rivals in limited-overs ICC tournaments. On the other hand, they didn’t play against each other in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and aren’t going to square off with each other even in the second cycle’s league stage.
India And Pakistan Last Faced Each Other In 2019 World Cup
The last time India and Pakistan faced each other was in the round-robin stage of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where the former won by 89 runs (DLS method). Their last T20 World Cup face-off resulted in India’s 6-wicket win over Men in Green in Kolkata in the 2016 edition.
Nonetheless, Shoaib Akhtar’s claim can come true as India tasted the last defeat versus Pakistan in an ICC tournament final, during the 2017 Champions Trophy summit clash defeat by 180 runs.
Talking about both sides, they are placed in Group B along with Afghanistan, New Zealand, and two other teams set to join from the qualifying round. Group A, so far, has England, West Indies, Australia, and South Africa, while two more teams will join them from the qualifying round.
The India-Pakistan rivalry is an age-old rivalry and games between the two sides are always highly anticipated by fans from both countries. However, due to the unfortunate political situation, the two teams haven’t played a bilateral series since 2012-13. Pakistan and India’s last bilateral ties at either of the two neighbouring countries were 2 T20Is and 3 ODIs in India way back in 2012.
The two Asian rivals now only play matches during the ICC events like World Cups and Champions Trophy and Asia Cup which relatively has become one-sided affairs with the Men in Blue edging the Men in Green.