ICC World T20 : India vs Pakistan ICC World T20 Preview

India vs Pakistan World T20: India Under Pressure But Will Not Panic, Say Kumar Sangakkara And Sunil Gavaskar

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India would want to get back to winning ways in World T20, with victory over Shahid Afridi-led Pakistan.

Pakistan have never defeated India in a World Cup match but on current form Shahid Afridi’s team threatens to break the jinx against the hosts who are smarting from a thumping defeat against New Zealand in their ICC World T20 opener. 

A defeat against their arch-rivals on Saturday at the Eden Gardens will push former champions India towards an early exit from the World T20. 

Is this the best chance for Pakistan to end their poor record against their neighbours? Kumar Sangakkara and Sunil Gavaskar preview the match on NDTV. Here are the highlights:


# The animosity between the countries after partition has lessened but not totally gone away: Gavaskar to NDTV
# It's like an East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan football match. The emotions are high: Gavaskar to NDTV
# Pakistan are slight favourites because they have won a match at Eden. They have been in the city for a week: Gavaskar to NDTV
# If it is a good pitch, India will win: Gavaskar to NDTV
# The hype around an India vs Pakistan match is quite apt. More than the emotions, it raises the level of the game. Every player wants to be a hero: Sangakkara to NDTV
# On form and looking at the start, you never know which Pakistan will turn up against India: Sangakkara to NDTV
# India lot more settled as a side. They are more in control in big games but Pakistan have an edge: Sangakkara to NDTV
# Having beaten Bangladesh, Pakistan are a different team now. Ahmed Shehzad is a classy batsman. He plays straight: Gavaskar to NDTV
# Balance of this Indian team is terrific. India have the options to plan their game. That's great: Gavaskar to NDTV
# Virat Kohli may have given him a bat but Md Amir won't bowl juicy half volleys for sure: Gavaskar to NDTV
# India have the confidence in its players to bounce back. India will not panic. They have the balance: Sangakkara to NDTV
# Pakistan will face a tough match against cornered India: Sangakkara to NDTV

India vs Pakistan: Top sledging moments between arch-rivals

With the rivalry of the India-Pakistan clashes, the excitement is bound to lead to aggression and to a few heated exchanges between players. It is only natural to happen in big games or in competitive sport. But it gets added flavour and vigour when it involves India and Pakistan.

Javed Miandad and Kiran More - 1992 World Cup

This is one of the most 'memorable' fights in cricket - not just in an India-Pakistan match. India were playing Pakistan for the first time in a World Cup match. Pakistan were handed over a target of 217 runs. The Indian bowlers were bowling brilliant spells and with rising required rate, the tension started to rise as well. Getting irritated with the rigorous comments by Kiran More behind the stumps, Javed Miandad complained about this to the umpire. Later, More appealed against the batsman for lbw. Tired of the comments coming from behind him, Miandad in a hilarious moment imitated More by jumping up and down and mocked the keeper.

Venkatesh Prasad and Aamer Sohail- 1996 Cricket World Cup

India met Pakistan for the second time in World Cup. India scored a decent 287 runs in their 50 overs. Chasing this total, Aamer Sohail scored a half century. But during the course of this innings he did something that changed the complexion of the match. Sohail dispatched a Venkatesh Prasad ball to the cover boundary and followed it by pointing finger on the Indian quicker. Venkatesh Prasad gave the best of the answers he could have as the Indian bowler disturbed the wood work behind Sohail to send his off stump for a toss. India won that encounter by 39 runs.

Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi (2007)

Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi were involved in a heated altercation. It happened in the 3rd ODI at Green Park, Kanpur.

Gautam Gambhir and Kamran Akmal - 2010 Asia Cup

Gautam Gambhir once again indulged in a fight but this time it was Pakistan's wicket-keeper who was against him. Gambhir actually got frustrated on an over appealing gesture which later converted into an ugly word-war between the two players.

Ishant Sharma and Kamran Akmal- 1st T20, 2012

Kamran Akmal again was in a word-war and it was Ishant Sharma this time who was against him. 

India vs Pakistan: Everybody’s game is anybody’s game

At Oxford Chai Bar on Thursday afternoon, four elderly men are discussing cricket. They talk about Lala Amarnath, Fazal Mahmood, Imran Khan and, of course, Sunil Gavaskar. Someone mentions the game at the nearby Eden Gardens. The cricket die-hards aren't T20 fans but keep a close and critical eye on today's cricketers. "These boys can’t play spin. They should watch Gavaskar's bat,” bemoans a gentleman.

A short walk from the 'chai pe charcha', across the maidan, is the Netaji Indoor Stadium. It's adjacent to Eden Gardens. The atmosphere is very different from the laidback calm of the Chai bar. A chaotic queue of restless fans waits in front of the ticket window. Suddenly, the fans start shouting. Abuses are being hurled. Fears of a violent protest are rising. It's all because of the 'sold out' placard which appeared some time back. Police intervenes, the crowd is dispersed.
Small disappointed groups head towards the maidan. They might even drop in at the chai shop. There would be more talk about the Gavaskar, Kohli and, of course, the India-Pakistan game at Eden. Like every cricket adda around the world, opinions would be formed and bets placed. Everyone would have their own favourites and predictions. It will be an exercise in futility. T20 format doesn’t give anyone an upper hand, when two almost equally-matched teams meet. Equations can change in a couple of balls. A dropped catch, an umpiring error can prove to be decisive.

WATCH: India vs Pakistan ICC World T20 Preview

Take India’s T20 international against Australia at the SCG on January 31. India went into the final over with 17 runs required off six balls.

Yuvraj Singh was facing Andrew Tye. It was the left-hander’s first innings in international cricket after almost two years and he had been struggling badly, scoring only 5 runs in the first 9 balls. His career had been edging closer to the precipice. But Tye started off with a length ball on the pads, allowing the Indian batsman to swing it to the fine leg boundary. The fast bowler repeated the error and this time Yuvraj hit him for a six over deep mid-wicket. India eventually won the cliffhanger with Yuvraj confirming his ticket for the World T20. Things altered in just two balls, for him and his team.

Cut to Shahid Afridi’s arrival press conference here; where he spoke about getting “more love in India than Pakistan”. A section back home vilified him for his comment. Even a PIL was filed. An out of form Afridi – 56 runs in eight T20 innings prior to the World T20 Super 10s match against Bangladesh — looked like a man heading to the exit door. But backed by the Eden crowd, the Pakistan captain scored a match-winning 49 off 19 balls and took two wickets to run away with the Man of the Match award. Suddenly, the retirement talks have been put on hold.

The dividing line between success and failure is very thin in the shortest format. Past performances don’t matter. History is irrelevant. Pakistan’s convincing win against Bangladesh and India’s batting meltdown against New Zealand would be of little consequence, when the match referee flips the coin in front of 67,000 fans. India’s superiority over Pakistan in the ICC tournaments would mean nothing. Pakistan’s all-win record in shorter formats at Eden, too, would barely have any significance.

Statisticians might point out, India don’t do well without Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli performing. 
The hosts have lost only twice in the last 12 T20 matches. Against Sri Lanka in Pune, Rohit got out cheaply and Kohli didn’t play. Against the Blackcaps in Nagpur, both Rohit and Kohli failed to fire. But once again, it would be wrong to put much emphasis on that. Hardik Pandya can change the course of the match with three lusty blows. Mohammad Amir can do it with a couple of inswinging yorkers. Similarly, it would be a bit off the mark to label this as a contest between India’s batting and Pakistan’s fast bowling, for bowlers get only four overs each in this format.

Coming back to India’s 79 all out, R Ashwin said the team has already put it out of their system. “If at all there’s an international team who can put it behind and go forward, it is us. It’s not the first time that (has) happened to us. We have done it in the past. I can’t really put a finger and say why it is... We have it in us to come back from behind. That is what we are looking forward to.” Spot on. And with all due respect to Pakistan coach Waqar Younis, India won’t be under more pressure, a survival match notwithstanding.

On the match eve, as India arrived for their training session, Kohli walked up to Sourav Ganguly who was monitoring pitch preparations.
Greetings were exchanged before the two had a lengthy conversation, ostensibly over the nature of the surface.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president is personally surveying the centre square and so far, pitches here have had played beautifully.

A true pitch gives equal opportunity to both teams, yet again making the favourites or underdogs tag redundant.

Injured Malinga leaves World Twenty20

Injured Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga will fly back home from the World Twenty20 in India without having played a single match, the country's cricket board said Friday.

Malinga's departure is the latest setback for the maverick bowler, having been dropped as skipper after the team's recent disastrous Asia Cup showing in Bangladesh.

"Sri Lanka team management on tour have observed that Malinga, whose niggling injury has been flaring up, would be better off resting it, and have recommended he return to Colombo," the board said in a statement.

Malinga, 32, was last week retained in the squad with the board saying a replacement would be named shortly.

The bowler presided over a dismal showing by Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup where they were beaten by little-fancied Bangladesh, and only just scraped past the United Arab Emirates.

While Sri Lanka won the last World Twenty20 in Bangladesh in 2014, the team has been badly weakened by the retirements of star batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

Malinga only played one match in the Asia Cup where he hinted that he was considering retirement.
The paceman has had a long history of injury problems and gave up Test cricket in 2010, saying he was unable to withstand the rigour of five-day matches.