India vs Pakistan Live, T20 World Cup: India will face Pakistan in yet another mega clash of ICC tournaments. With nearly 1.5 billion people tuning in to watch the high-octane match, fans have huge expectations from both sides. On the Indian side, InsideSport spoke to a few fans and they expect nothing but a win from Virat Kohli’s side but for them, Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam will be the X-Factors who will dictate the course of the match.
Rohit Sharma has a special place amongst fans for his century against Pakistan in the 50-over World Cup 2019. His monstrous 140 off 113 powered India to victory apart from Virat Kohli’s 77 and KL Rahul’s 57. But Babar Azam led a resistance for Pakistan with 48 runs besides Fakhar Zaman’s 62.
India vs Pakistan Live, T20 World Cup: Fans pick Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam as X-Factors in T20 World Cup mega clash
“Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are the two to watch out for. They are excellent batsmen and the 2019 World Cup showed it. We need to be wary of the two and get their wickets as early as possible,” one of the fans told InsideSport.
But it’s the next T20I captain Rohit Sharma, who will be India’s best bet according to fans even though KL Rahul is in supreme form. Even Hasan Ali, arguably Pakistan’s best T20 bowler in the current setup recalled how difficult it was bowling against him in 2019 WC.
“We tried everything to get him out but he was just not having it. Then we thought he will make a mistake after 50, then he reached 100. We thought at least now he will be out but no, he was continuing at the same pace,” Hasan Ali said in an ICC interview.
India vs Pakistan Live, T20 World Cup: Fans pick Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam as X-Factors in T20 World Cup mega clash
In the bowling department, it is Shaheen Afridi though who could be the star performer. The left-arm fast bowler has already impressed all the cricket lovers. Although he is still trying to find his footing in T20 cricket, his left-arm action and the ability to trouble right-handers will be a cause for concern for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
“Shaheen Afridi is one of the best bowlers currently. He is world-class and Rohit Sharma & KL Rahul will need to be careful in his two overs inside the powerplay,” another fan said.
Fans’ India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
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