You can’t lose against India, Misbah tells Pakistan

DUBAI: As long as Pakistan beat India at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, nothing else matters for Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

The two countries enjoy one of the most intense rivalries in sport, but it’s India who have the upper hand against Pakistan in ICC World Twenty20 matches with three wins and a draw in four previous encounters.

India are again favourites for Saturday’s group showdown as hosts and recently crowned Asian champions, but Misbah says Pakistan will always raise their game against the hosts.

“You can lose every game but you can’t lose against India, and it’s the same thing for them, that’s how big a match it is,” Misbah told Gulf News in an interview.

“Obviously with the kind of cricket India is playing at the moment, you feel all their bases are covered. Their spin department is pretty experienced and in batting, their top six line-up are all match-winners with a strong middle order. The way they are playing at the moment having just won the Asia Cup, they look like a difficult side to beat.

“But with Pakistan everyone believes we’ve got potential and on any given day we can surprise anyone. This is a dangerous factor for other teams this World Cup.

“We have a really good bowling line up, especially in the fast bowling department. We’ve got different variety and with the kind of bounce and pace Mohammad Irfan got from the wickets, and especially the way Mohammad Amir is bowling… we’ve also got Wahab Riaz and Shahid Afridi there.

“Our batting is inconsistent but it still has potential. I think if we can play according to our potential in batting, we could really make up for that and hopefully with the kind of pitches there are in India, that are good for batting, Pakistan has a fair chance.”

Former India captain Anil Kumble said the hosts were just as determined in their approach to the Pakistan match. “It doesn’t matter what happens in the other matches so long as we beat Pakistan and so far that’s what’s happened in T20 World Cups,” he said.

“India have found balance at the right time with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra coming in and then of course Yuvraj Singh. The batting has gone a lot deeper and especially in India, the likes of Yuvraj and Suresh Raina can be looked at as all-rounders as their bowling will also come in handy.

“The top four batsman will be key but it will also depend on how the bowlers do. Most wickets are batting-friendly, so whichever team bowls better… India’s bowling has come good with Bumrah, Nehra and Mohammad Shami being fit, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh are also there, so I think the bowling will determine how India will progress because their batting is really strong.

“In T20, you can never tell who will win, all it takes is the performance of one batsman or a couple of bowlers in one or two overs. But this team, especially MS Dhoni, have seen it all — so they won’t get overawed by expectations and there won’t be added pressure with talk of them being favourites.”