All posts tagged: ind vs pak champions trophy

IND vs PAK | Champions Trophy: Clinical India show timid Pakistan why they are stuck in a different era | Cricket News

IND vs PAK | Champions Trophy: Clinical India show timid Pakistan why they are stuck in a different era | Cricket News

How much did Pakistan miss a batsman of Virat Kohli’s caliber in the middle-order? How much did they wish they had openers like Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill who showed the urgency to kill the game in the first powerplay? Where are they going to unearth spinners who could collectively choke the opposition in the middle overs? Will their fast-bowling trio, often compared to those in the 90s, ever show there is more to them than numbers that pop on speed gun? When will they realise that unless their fitness parameters improve, they will continue to remain an ordinary fielding outfit that drops catches that could win them matches? If Pakistan do some soul searching, which they are likely to do once the confirmation arrives with regards to the elimination from the Champions Trophy, they need not look beyond India. Since winning the Champions Trophy final against India at the Oval in 2017, this was their sixth straight defeat in completed matches against their arch-rivals. At least till the rivalry retains its hype, it is …

Ind vs Pak Emotional Rollercoaster: Dot balls impede Pakistan, Hardik entraps Saud Shakeel & Axar direct throws apply brakes as Pak reach 241 | Cricket News

Ind vs Pak Emotional Rollercoaster: Dot balls impede Pakistan, Hardik entraps Saud Shakeel & Axar direct throws apply brakes as Pak reach 241 | Cricket News

Mohammed Shami, at his best, is at it from the word go. When he is in rhythm, he hardly wastes any time in hitting the right lines and lengths. But it wasn’t the case on Sunday as he struggled to get his radar right. In an over that would have given flashbacks to 90s kids of the stat to the 2003 World Cup final, Shami had to bowl 11 deliveries to complete a legal 6-ball over. It wasn’t quite like the 15 runs that Zaheer Khan conceded that forgettable day in Johannesburg, but it was the first sign that something was off with Shami in Dubai. He then went off the field, pointing to his shoes. By the time he got close to finishing his third over, the physio was out, massaging his right calf. Shami then slow-walked into the dressing room. A couple of days after his 5-for, it was a worrying start to the big day for India’s ICC hero. Somewhere in Dubai, Sunil Gavaskar must have muttered to himself that cricket is …

It’s beyond a game, that’s the beauty of India-Pakistan cricket, says Pakistan coach Aaqib Javed | Cricket News

It’s beyond a game, that’s the beauty of India-Pakistan cricket, says Pakistan coach Aaqib Javed | Cricket News

If one thought Pakistan coming to Dubai could ease the pressure of them playing in front of home fans, in a must-win contest against India, their head coach Aaqib Javed seemed more intent on treating Sunday’s clash as ‘beyond a game’. He wouldn’t stop there, and even claimed: ‘If you remove this pressure, what’s left in the Pakistan-India game? Passion and pressure is what is needed to show a player his performance.” Already facing pressure of expectations of doing well in the first ICC event they are hosting in 29 years, they go into the game against India with the added pressure of this being a must-win fixture. “There is no game you can say you play without pressure. The first game we lost, okay. New Zealand is a very strong team. They have good balance… After losing a game there is another good chance for you to win here and win the third one and make it to the semis. It is India and Pakistan. It doesn’t matter if it is a knockout or …

ICC Champions Trophy: Kohli against spin, countering sluggish surface, middle-overs gameplan the focus as India prepare to take on Pakistan | Cricket News

ICC Champions Trophy: Kohli against spin, countering sluggish surface, middle-overs gameplan the focus as India prepare to take on Pakistan | Cricket News

After a convincing win over Bangladesh in their opening fixture, there was a sense of purpose and direction in how India went about their preparations on the eve of their big-ticket match against Pakistan on Sunday. Given an off-day on Friday, some of them used the time to watch movies, while a few of them went for dinners. But at the ICC Academy ground on Saturday, they turned up an hour early for the training session that was officially scheduled to start at 1 pm. Matches against Pakistan often bring some additional drama. But not this time. If anything, this team appeared oblivious to it, instead focusing on the job at hand. There was no talk of this being a special game or the desperate need to do well to win over the fans. Instead, they are looking inward. India may have brushed aside Bangladesh, but there are a few screws waiting to be tightened before this becomes the well-oiled machine one saw at the 2023 50-over World Cup. With the first match giving clear …