Once again India and Pakistan lock horns on 23 September 2018 in another high octane match. Three days ago India had dealt a crushing defeat by eight wickets to their arch-rivals.
However, India must not be careless since the Pakistani team is at its best when wounded and it has happened in the past when they have come back and got their act together to defeat their opposition.
India has a 60:40 chance of winning
India has a 60:40 chance of winning the match according to India TV cricket expert Saurav Ganguly and Ramiz Raja also agreed that India should not be careless.
According to Ganguly, the game can go in any direction, and nothing can be said from a previous performance.
However, Pakistan will have to bat responsibly to be in contention against a formidable Indian team which has not lost a match. There has been a few one-sided matches between the two nations.
The previous match between India and Pakistan was not very competitive and was a one-sided affair. In the previous match between India and Pakistan teams in ICC Trophy championship in June 2018 was also a one-sided game with the whole Indian team bowled out for a paltry 158 runs after Pakistan had made 338 runs.
270 is a competitive score
The sweltering heat and the pitch conditions mean that a score of 270 is competitive and restrained and balanced bowling can ensure a thrilling end.
In fact, most of the dismissals in the previous India Pakistan encounter lay squarely on the Pakistani batsmen who throwing caution to the wind had played some irresponsible shots.
Mohammed Amir’s bowling is also not at par and it will help him and other bowlers to concentrate more on length and less on speed. Finally, it is true that the Indian team is strong on paper but it can be anyone’s game.
There is all likeliness of an India vs Pakistan finals on 28th September as according to the fixtures, the first and second ranked teams will clash in the finals.
In another match today Afghanistan faces Bangladesh. For Bangladesh to make it to the top two, they have to win the game with a very big margin and expect Pakistan to lose very badly today and it is very unlikely to happen as Pakistan will play AFG in the last match and they can easily consolidate their run rate.
However, the clear picture will emerge only after the conclusion of today's two games.
