All eyes on ‘high-voltage’ cricket clash between India, Pakistan today

LONG ISLAND, NY: All eyes are focused on the Pakistan team’s response, in a make-or-break match against India at the Nassau County Stadium on Sunday, following their upset defeat at the outset of the T20 World Cup against the host nation in Dallas.

Pakistan desperately require a win against arch-rivals to stay in the competition and to make it to the next stage. In case of any further hiccup, things will go out of Pakistan’s hands and their progress to the next stage will then largely depend on other matches’ results.

Pakistan cricket team head coach Gary Kristen who spoke to the media Saturday wants to forget the past, especially the match against the US in an effort to focus on the Indian game. “We have left the match against the US behind and are more interested in putting up an all-out effort against India Sunday. I am really encouraged to see the players’ response as how eager they are to put up a solid show against India. They have done it before and they can do it again. All they need is to make sure that they are putting up their best on Sunday,” he said.

India has a 6-1 win record against Pakistan in the World Cup T20, the only time the greenshirts have beaten India was in 2021 when Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan pair got them home by ten wickets in 2021 in the UAE.

Gary was reluctant to predict on Pakistan’s chances. “No one can predict on the outcome of the match and that too when the prediction is about T20 cricket. What I told my boys is to make sure every player playing Sunday would give his hundred percent.”

Indian captain Rohit Sharma rated Pakistan high in all respects. “I don’t think you can rate any team in T20 cricket on the basis of past performance. If Pakistan was beaten by the USA, that was different day and a different occasion. Things would be totally different on Sunday. Pakistan would be knowing well as what had gone wrong against the US, so they will not be repeating these.”

On his priorities, Sharma said he had told his cricketers not to look beyond one over. “Just focus on every over. What will happen in 20 overs is not your concern. T20 is a game of every over.”

Rohit Sharma stressed the requirements of playing the best cricket on that particular day instead of making any lofty claims. “T20 cricket is all about playing well on that particular day instead of banking on your previous achievements. Even the best of teams could falter and the minnows can carry the day. So it is all about playing well and in accordance with the given game plan that matters most.”

Rohit was not ready to take Pakistan lightly. “Look they lost against Zimbabwe but went on to win key matches to play the final of the last World Cup. So, it is all about playing on that day which differentiates teams. T20 is very different format where nothing can be predicted. So making the best use of opportunities coming your way that matters most.”

Rohit did not agree that, unlike Pakistan, India is more equipped with the conditions as they have already played a match at the Nassau County Stadium and had spent over a week judging the conditions. “It is not like that. No one, not even the curator has any clue as to how the wicket will behave. It is difficult to predict as what is in store. So staying long and playing a match here does not give us any extra cushion. I just expect every Indian player to chip in and contribute to the cause.”

Rohit said a captain he never relied on one or two players. “Every player matters in T20 matches. The contribution should come from each of the 11 members rather than getting one or two performances. Though a few cricketers including Virat has got an exceptional record against Pakistan, it is not that just one player’s performance would matter. I expect every player to chip in to make the day for India.”

A packed-to-the-capacity crowd, which would be around 36,000, is expected to watch Pak-India match at the stadium with billions expected to follow it on mini screen.

Security is high here with no unconcerned allowed to enter the premises. Even the main road into the Eisenhower Park was closed due to the match.