Former Pakistan captain and the country’s current Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday backed Babar Azam & Co to end Pakistan’s losing streak in WC against India. Speaking about his views on cricket’s biggest rivalry, Imran Khan said that Pakistan have the talent to beat India.
“This team has the talent to defeat India,” Imran Khan told as quoted by Pakistan’s Geo TV.
“Insha’Allah, Pakistan will definitely beat India tomorrow,” he added.
He also interacted with the team ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, skipper Babar Azam said on Saturday. Imran shared with the team his experience of leading Pakistan to their maiden World Cup triumph in 1992.
“Before coming, we had a meeting and in that he had shared his experience, about what was his mindset in the 1992 World Cup, what was his and the team’s body language,” Babar Azam said on the eve of his team’s clash against arch-rivals India.
Talking about India’s record against Pakistan, Azam said:
“It is about keeping things simple, we need to focus on the basics. We just want to give our best. We should not think about the past, records are made to be broken, we are just focused on what lies ahead.”
“It is a World Cup, you cannot take any game lightly. India Pakistan matches are always full of high intensity, you cannot be relaxed at any point. You have to do well in all three basics of the game — batting, bowling, and fielding. It is not like our bowling is under pressure, we tried different things in the warm-up games. I have full confidence in my team,” he added.
- Pakistan had won their first-ever World Cup under the captaincy of Imran Khan in 1992. They defeated world champions West Indies and Australia for their first breakthrough.
- The Men in Green are leaving no stones unturned to ensure Pakistan are highly motivated as aim to recreate history.
- On Friday, PCB replayed Champions Trophy Final to keep Babar Azam & Co in high spirits on the advice of batting consultant Mathew Hayden.
Head-to-Head in ICC tournaments
- Pakistan is yet to beat India in a World Cup fixture. India leads Pakistan 6-1 in 8 T20 matches, including a tie.
- The record shows Pakistan will have an uphill task against Virat Kohli & Co. in the upcoming contest.
- The two neighbours had last met each other in the 2019 World Cup in Manchester on October 29.
Match results
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Winner | Margin | Ground | Match Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Pakistan | tie | India won Bowl out | Durban | Sep 14, 2007 | |
| India | Pakistan | India | 5 runs | Johannesburg | Sep 24, 2007 | |
| India | Pakistan | India | 8 wickets | Colombo (RPS) | Sep 30, 2012 | |
| India | Pakistan | India | 7 wickets | Dhaka | Mar 21, 2014 | |
| India | Pakistan | India | 6 wickets | Kolkata | Mar 19, 2016 |
| Tournament | Matches played | India won | Pakistan won | Draw/Tie/No result |
| World Cup | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| T20 World Cup | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Champions Trophy | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 |
