Former India captain Sourav Ganguly backed the Indian cricket team to beat Pakistan once again as the arch-rivals gear up to face each other in the Champions Trophy next month. Virat Kohli will lead the defending champions against Pakistan on June 4 in their Champions Trophy opener at Edgbaston.
“India will beat Pakistan again in Champions Trophy,” said Ganguly, according to a Hindustan Times report. “In the last eight to 10 years there has been a massive difference in the quality between India and Pakistan and that has been one of the major reasons why India have continued to dominate Pakistan (in ICC events). I believe India will do it again in the Champions Trophy in Birmingham on June 4.”
History favours India, who have a 11-0 record against Pakistan in World Cups. However, in the Champions Trophy though, Pakistan have a 2-1 win-loss record against India.
However, Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam-ul Haq is optimistic that Pakistan, who will be led by Sarfraz Ahmed, will beat India this time.
“We don’t have a great record against India in major events but every day is a new day and I am sure the players will perform well in the first match. The June 4 game is very important for us, not only because it is against India, but also because it will go a long way in helping us qualify for the semi-finals. Our team is quite balanced and has a nice blend of youthful exuberance and experience,” said Inzamam.
Ganguly said that the quality of Indian players was the reason behind their dominance over Pakistan in the past decade. “In early part of the 90s and even in early 2000s, it is just that India played better than Pakistan in world tournaments because there was not much difference between the two sides.”
The former Indian captain added, “The Pakistan team was a fantastic unit then with the likes of Wasim (Akram), Waqar (Younis), Inzamam (ul-Haq), Saeed Anwar, Javed Miandad and Salim Malik. But 2005 onward, the Pakistan team has not been the same as it used to be. They have lost to India on quality, they have lost to India on ability and somehow India have reacted to big match pressure much better than Pakistan. The technique and quality of Indian players have been better than Pakistan’s. You see, in Pakistan there is rare brilliance but every time they have been under pressure, they have tried to fight or hit their way out of pressure, which has not worked for them. But every time you see India under pressure, they are a team, which would seem have soaked in the pressure. They have batted and played difficult situations well and then have dominated.”
