TThe US’s stunning victory over Pakistan on Thursday has stirred this World Cup for the ages – now it’s time for the game’s established giants to really bring it to life. This weekend sees the renewal of two of the sport’s great rivalries: England play Australia on Saturday and Pakistan, now fighting to stay in the tournament, face India on Sunday.
If the matches we have seen so far are any indication, they will be completely contrasting matches, with England in Barbados, a well-known and often high-scoring ground, and India in the new pop-up stadium near New York, where batting is so popular has become. proved very difficult indeed. That is now recognized as the biggest match in world cricket and I expect it to be another very exciting occasion – I just hope we get a surface conducive to a good match.
In Twenty20 cricket we expect front foot batters to hit through the line and score freely. These are the early days and the India-Pakistan match will be played on a pitch that has never been used, but so far in New York there has been a lot of uneven bouncing and the batters have struggled. Sri Lanka were bowled out there for 77 in the first game, Ireland for 96 in the second – by India, who dismantled their top position with their four fast bowling options.
With unpredictable bounce and top-notch bowling batters, they will have to be smart. The front-foot shots that we have come to accept as part and parcel of T20 cricket can be replaced with more traditional back-foot skills and shots – cutting and pulling – to give batters that little bit more reaction time. India and Pakistan have bowlers who can make the most of these conditions, but Pakistan’s struggles against the US suggest the same cannot be said for their batsmen.
In Babar Azam and Virat Kohli, both sides have absolutely world-class players who can come in and play a more traditional type of innings. India seems to have the edge in power hitting, with Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube all top-notch options. Pakistan looked poor in their two recent matches in England and even worse against the US, and need others to back Fakhar Zaman with that style of play.
They have taken a risk with Azam Khan, who has an international T20 average of just 8.80 but brings potentially useful – if not in this particular match – experience from the Caribbean Premier League. Whether his game will suit a fast New York pitch that requires lightning reactions is something Pakistan must consider; the way Mark Wood dismissed him at the Oval last week, with a swift bouncer to the body, suggests he may struggle. This is an opportunity for sharp skills and calm heads, a true once-in-a-lifetime event, and both sides will consider what type of cricketers to select for this game and whether those individuals can be successful on this particular surface.
England and Australia should feel a little more at home in Barbados, especially considering both teams played their opening matches there. Thanks to the rain, England didn’t last long, and they looked nervous against a Scottish side who came out as underdogs with absolutely nothing to lose.
Like many people I have waxed lyrical about England, and especially the variety of their attack, but for a while the Scottish openers put them to the sword. What it proved is that anything can happen on any given day: if someone comes in and is having a really good night, he can take the game away from you, and almost every team in this World Cup has at least one player capable of doing that. It.
Australia beat Oman comfortably enough, but they will be very concerned about the form of Glenn Maxwell, who got the first ball in that game.
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In his past ten T20 innings, going back to the start of the Indian Premier League, he has had five ducks and scored more than four only twice. It’s terrible form, and a World Cup isn’t the best time to feel your way out. But Australia also has the headline act of the IPL in Travis Head, who opens the batting with David Warner, that famous great bowling attack, an always extremely competitive mentality and the confidence that comes from winning trophies.
There is always pressure in matches between these two great rivals and especially at a World Cup, but both teams will expect to progress to the Super Eights regardless of the result and will see Saturday’s match as a wonderful opportunity, a chance to of the biggest players. tournament favorites, to put a marker down, to show that they are there and mean business.
In addition, this will allow them to gain more experience of the conditions in Barbados, which will be useful if either of them realizes their ambitions and makes the most of their abilities, and they are back for the finals in a few weeks.