COLOMBO: India will need middle order stability and clarity over Abhishek Sharma’s fitness to maintain their recent dominance over Pakistan when the two arch rivals meet in the marquee T20 World Cup clash at the Premadasa Stadium here on Sunday.
The contest comes amid the fading embers of an impasse that blended cricket and politics in unprecedented fashion, before a temporary “peace season” set in with Pakistan making a U turn on their boycott threat and agreeing to take the field.
The decision followed weeks of intense negotiations involving the International Cricket Council, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with virtually the entire South Asian cricket establishment working to ensure the high profile fixture went ahead, weather permitting, given its massive pull among fans and broadcasters.
A chain of events triggered by the BCCI instructed release of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad had snowballed into a cross border flashpoint before finally coming to a halt, at least for now.
Players from both sides have attempted to downplay the surrounding hype, describing the contest as just another match on the calendar. While the sincerity of that claim is open to question, neither team would want a negative result given the potential backlash it could spark.
India’s immediate concern revolves around Abhishek Sharma, who missed the match against Namibia due to a stomach infection that required hospitalisation. Should he fail to recover in time, the team management could either persist with Sanju Samson or draft in a fully fit Washington Sundar to open alongside the in form Ishan Kishan.
Washington’s inclusion would also add an off spin option on what is expected to be a slow and tacky surface at Premadasa. The conditions could further tempt the selectors to bring in left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, although that would mean sacrificing a batter, with Rinku Singh the most likely to miss out.
Kuldeep’s inclusion remains a compelling option given his record against Babar Azam and his impressive figures of four for 30 in the Asia Cup final at Dubai, his last outing against Pakistan.
In the build up to the tournament, India’s batting resembled a juggernaut, flattening most opposition. However, their first two World Cup matches have exposed a mild but notable concern, a tendency to lose wickets in clusters.
India collapsed to 77 for six against the USA in Mumbai, while five wickets fell for just four runs in the death overs against Namibia. The latter was masked by a total in excess of 200 and a comfortable 93 run win in New Delhi.
On both occasions, the innings were salvaged by captain Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya. While India have four points from two matches, the management would prefer a more collective batting effort rather than repeated reliance on individual brilliance, particularly against an opponent capable of exploiting such lapses.
Pakistan, following the hybrid tournament model adopted last year, have been based in Colombo, giving them valuable exposure to local conditions. The Premadasa pitch has played slow, and the 2009 champions boast a strong spin arsenal in Usman Tariq, Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz.
Tariq’s unusual side arm, stop and pause action has already drawn attention, and his contest with India’s technically sound batters promises to be a fascinating subplot.
With the bat, Pakistan will rely on Sahibzada Farhan, who appeared to have found a measure of control against Jasprit Bumrah during last year’s Asia Cup, along with Ayub and all rounder Faheem Ashraf.
While Pakistan are yet to be tested by a high quality bowling attack in the tournament, India possess one. From Bumrah to Varun Chakravarthy, the defending champions have proven match winners at their disposal, and pace all rounder Shivam Dube has also shown marked improvement with the ball.
This depth offers India considerable flexibility when finalising their combination. Ultimately, however, the match will hinge less on permutations and more on which side can achieve mental equilibrium amid intense external and internal pressures.
Weather could yet have a say. The Sri Lanka Department of Meteorology has warned of a developing low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal, with up to a 70 per cent chance of rain forecast for the Khettarama area on Sunday evening.
Teams
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.
The match begins at 7 pm IST.