Kolkata: The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has promised that they would need only an hour to organise the match. Both India and Pakistan have won the T20 World Cup once before but no team has ever won at home.
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“The ball will not turn like Nagpur”.
– Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi needs just two wickets to surpass Lasith Malinga as the leading wicket-taker in the World T20. It will suit India. Shoaib Malik is one of the best right-hand batsmen from Pakistan, but not successful that much against India. “I feel sad about it”, he told AFP from Pakistan’s port city Karachi, where he is watching the World Twenty20 matches on a mega screen installed by cricket lovers. On the other hand, Pakistan who registered a comprehensive win against Bangladesh might be pretty confident of the match. “Yes, Pakistan is on a roll”.
“Even people, who don’t watch cricket, watch India-Pakistan clash”.
The couple has spent decades supporting their beloved Pakistani cricket team wearing conventional green salwar kameez and fluttering the Pakistani flag.
India came into the tournament as the favourites to lift trophy but a forgettable batting display against New Zealand was the ideal wake-up call the Men in Blue wanted to shake off any complacency that had set in. They have played some good cricket overall for quite some time now.
Put in to bat on a moisture-laden pitch that saw heavy rains through the day, Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan (17) and Shehzad (25) played cautiously at first and then lost their wickets as they tried to accelerate. The duo could be sent together during the match to go against fast spinners of India. This time around, one can sense there is chance for Pakistan to change the history.
The no-win record against India in world events across formats certainly troubles Pakistan, but on this occasion, momentum favours them as opposed to in all previous ICC meetings. “People-to-people contacts are necessary for bettering the relations between the two neighbours”, he said, but added “the relations should be based on mutual respect” .
“Our batsmen are also doing well, in fact we are the only team so far in the World Cup to have scored more than 200 runs in one game”.
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But India also has a streak of their own against Pakistan when it comes to World Cups, as they have not lost any games to Pakistan in any of the 50 over or 20 over World Cups, including the exciting final of the 2007 World T20.
