Pakistan find themselves in familiar territory after suffering an upset loss at the hands of the United States (US) in their T20 World Cup opener. Pakistan now need to win their marquee clash with India on Sunday to have control over destiny in the mega event. Another loss could leave them staring at an early elimination.
But the comforting fact for Pakistan is that they had started with two defeats - against India and Zimbabwe - in the last edition in 2022 also before staging a spectacular recovery, though greatly aided by the Dutch stunning the South Africans in their last group match. Pakistan made it to the final where they went down fighting to England.
However, Pakistan will be livid at having put additional pressure on themselves going into the India match. India enjoy a 6-1 record over their arch-rivals in the tournament. The Men in Blue have a perfect record (8-0) over their neighbours when it comes to the ODI World Cup. None other than former captain Misbah-ul-Haq admitted recently that Pakistan have a mental block when it comes to playing India in the World Cups.
Sunday's face-off will be held at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The drop-in pitches at the venue have attracted much attention. The batters have been at the receiving end on tracks with plenty of movement and bounce. It's advantage India as Rohit Sharma's men have played two matches - warm-up game against Bangladesh as well as the opener against Ireland - at the venue. The Indian pacers bowled the Irish out for a paltry 96. Though India cantered to an eight-wicket win, Rohit and Rishabh Pant got hit by left-arm medium-pacer Joshua Little in their chase.
The wicket will in all likelihood continue to be a challenging one. The team winning the toss will be keen to bowl and make the most of the moisture in the track. The early start (10.30 am local time) means the pacers will continue to have a big say and both teams have potent bowling attacks.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan are vital to the team's batting fortunes. On the bowling front left-arm pacers Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Amir will be eager to bounce back after a rather lacklustre show against the US.
India, on the other hand, are sitting pretty. However, Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid will know very well that the race for the Super Eight will heat up if they go down to Pakistan. India's remaining games are against the US and Canada. Pressure is massive on the big teams in must-win encounters and the fickle nature of T20 makes it even tougher.
