The ‘God of Cricket’, Sachin Tendulkar, who has featured in five India vs Pakistan World Cup games, has shared his special message for the India team, ahead of their game against Pakistan on June 09, at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, in New York.
The inaugural champions of the tournament have started their campaign for the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, in the West Indies and the United States of America, with a dominating performance over Ireland, as they chased down a low score with eight wickets in hand, and almost eight overs to spare.
On the flip of the coin, at the Grand Prairie Stadium, in Dallas, Pakistan lost their maiden clash against the USA side, who held their nerve in an inspiring super-over, bowled by the Mumbai-born left-arm swing bowler Saurabh Netravalkar. The sub-continent side looked quite low in their confidence, as they lacked proper skills in all the three departments of the game.
‘My best wishes will be slightly more towards India’ – Sachin Tendulkar
The Master blaster has been the leading run-getter of these India-Pakistan encounters across the One Day Internationals and the T20 Internationals, as he hoped for a very good performance from both the teams, although putting his weight a little bit towards the Rohit Sharma-led side.
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Pakistan, under pressure, could come out with all guns blazing, and it’s known to all that an injured ‘Men in Green’, whom everyone ruled out of the tournament, could prove out to be a beast in all the departments.
There is news that young Saim Ayub may open the batting, they could go after the bowlers without any pressure, while captain Babar Azam could easily knock the spinners in the middle overs. This means Mohammad Rizwan could also play his natural game, rather than showing his aggression without any reason.
They will be little tempted towards using the likes of Imad Wasim, who has been fit for the encounter, as their coach Gary Kirsten has declared on the eve of the game in the press-match conference. Shadab Khan has been awesome with the bat in hand, but eyes will be on how he makes a great return with the ball in hand.
India, meanwhile on the back of their heavy victory, and a head-to-head of 6-1 will be high on confidence, as the attention will again be on their batting superstar Virat Kohli. The only time they have lost to this team in the world cups of the shortest format of the game, it was in the 2021 edition, when the Pakistan side handed India a 10-wicket defeat at the Dubai International Stadium.
Sachin Tendulkar feels that only those two words- India and Pakistan can reenergize the whole tournament, along with the players and the fans.
‘India versus Pakistan has always been a big match and exhilarating. My first World Cup clash against them was in Australia. The number of WC matches we have played against them are all exciting and have tight finishes, which people have enjoyed,” Mumbai-born expressed during a chat with the media at the DO World event.
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Sachin Tendulkar also feels that from the 2007 T20 WC to 2022, the India-Pakistan games have been quite tight and exhilarating.
‘Coming to the T20 WC from 2007 to 2022, all these matches have been tight and exhilarating as well. I would like to wish both of the teams the best of luck, though my best wishes will be slightly more towards India,” 51-year-old, Sachin Tendulkar concluded.
The T20 format can be really surprising, and Pakistan will look to give their all to open their account in this T20 World Cup 2024.