Ex-cricket stars back India to emerge champions in 'mother of all battles'

Another chapter in the illustrious rivalry between India and Pakistan will unfold at New York`s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (Pic: AFP)

Former India stars have backed the Rohit Sharma-led team to topple their arch-rival Pakistan in their upcoming Group A clash in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

Another chapter in the illustrious rivalry between India and Pakistan will unfold at New York's Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Renowned for his maundering strokeplay, former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu feels the most crucial thing in the clash of the heavyweights is the pressure of expectation.

"If you're winning against Pakistan, then you are zero from hero even if you have not done anything in your previous seven matches. It is the mother of all battles, and the most important thing here is the pressure of expectation," Sidhu told ANI.

Amid the pressure of the expectation, Sidhu backed India to have an advantage over the Men in Green on the back of their dominant performances.

"India will have an advantage because Pakistan have not performed in their previous matches. They lost against England in the warm-up match and also against the US. On the other hand, India is in the ascendancy and all the players are in form. Pakistan's batting lineup is not working, and they are not aware of the conditions here in New York," he added.

India have played two T20 World Cup 2024 matches at the newly built stadium in New York. Their first game was a warm-up affair against Bangladesh, and the second was the tournament opener against Ireland.

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On both occasions, India registered convincing victories, and former India spinner Harbhajan Singh feels this will be a major advantage for the Rohit-led side.

"India will have an advantage since they have already played on this ground and Pakistan are coming into this game after playing on a flat pitch. It will be a big challenge for Pakistan to settle in this condition after losing against the US. So, India have the advantage and they are playing well also," Harbhajan told ANI.

India's batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, has been in the thick of the action during his playing days. He reminisced about those early battles and wished both teams for their latest encounter.

Speaking to ANI in New York, Sachin said, "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. 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."

On the eve of the clash, BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla also expressed confidence in India's victory over Pakistan.

"Tomorrow there is a very important match between India and Pakistan being held in New York. I am hopeful that the Indian team will win because, till now, in all the league matches, our performance has been very good. I have full hope that we will achieve victory in tomorrow's match," Shukla told ANI.

India T20 WC squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan T20 WC squad: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan

(With agency inputs)