The fixtures of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 were announced on Tuesday, and fans of India and Pakistan could not have asked for a better opening tie.
The two arch-rivals will cross paths once again in a World Cup. On 24th October, the two neighbouring nations will kick-start proceedings in Group B. India are being dubbed as favourites by many, while former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir has even claimed that the Men in Blue are currently far superior to their rivals.
India ranks second in the ICC T20 team rankings behind England, whereas Pakistan ranks fourth. However, India always have found an extra spark in a World Cup, as Pakistan are still searching for their first World Cup win against India.
The two nations have come face-to-face in a T20 World Cup on five occasions, and on every such occasion, India have had the last laugh. The story is similar in the 50-over World Cup as well, where India have a 7-0 record against the green shirts.
Recently in a talk show, the 2007 T20 World Cup winner Gambhir highlighted the gulf in class between the two teams.
“At the moment if you see, India is far superior to Pakistan. Yes, in a T20 format, anyone can beat anyone. We should not take any team for granted, teams like Afghanistan can create upsets. It’s the same with Pakistan. But there will be pressure on Pakistan,”
Gambhir told Star Sports, as per quotes in CricketNext.
The India-Pakistan clash will not be the climax of the upcoming edition of T20 World Cup but the curtain-raiser itself. According to Gambhir, this will be beneficial for both sets of players, as they will be able to focus on other matches by getting the big game out of the way first up.
“It’s important to play Pakistan in the early stages of the competition. You don’t want to keep thinking about Pakistan. You can finish it off early and then concentrate on the rest of the tournament.
It’s going to be the same for the fans and the rest of the country. In fact, I am really happy for both countries that they are going to play against each other early,”
the 39-year-old explained.
