The last time India and Pakistan cricket teams locked horns in a World Cup match last year, Shaheen Shah Afridi ran through India’s top order. He removed India’s openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in his first two overs and then also removed a well-settled Virat Kohli in the slog overs.
It won’t be wrong to say that Shaheen Afridi was one of the main reasons why Pakistan registered their first-ever victory against India in a World Cup match across formats. Now almost a year later, both teams are once again all set to lock horns with each other in another World Cup group match. However, this time the venue of the game will be Australia’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, which means that Afridi, who has just recovered will not just be available in time for the much-awaited game but will also be lethal this time with more bounce and pace in Australia.
Meanwhile, ahead of much-awaited India vs Pakistan match, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has come up with a brilliant piece of advice for the Indian cricket team to tackle the lethal Shaheen Shah Afridi. Gambhir says in order to go on the offensive and put the pressure back on the left-arm pacer who will be coming back from a long injury layoff. Speaking on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’ ahead of big-ticket India vs Pakistan match on October 23, Gambhir said:
“When it comes to Shaheen Afridi, don’t look to survive. Look to score runs from him. Because the moment you look to survive, everything becomes really small. Whether it’s your backlift, whether it’s your footwork, and obviously, in T20 cricket you can’t look to survive. I know that he can be dangerous with the new ball, but again, irrespective, the Indian batters need to score more runs, get into better positions, and look to time the balls rather than to hit it. India will be fine because India has got the quality in their top 3 or 4 who can definitely take on Shaheen Shah Afridi,”
Ever since India’s embarrassing defeat in last year’s World Cup, India and Pakistan have met twice in the Asia Cup with Rohit Sharma-led side winning once and Babar Azam’s men winning in the next game. Both teams will be heading into the World Cup high on confidence as they have beaten both Australia and South Africa at home.
