batting line-up.
The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni are the ones capable of taking the game away from Pakistan. Pakistan will need their pace attack to click to undo them. They will need their gentle giant, Mohammad Irfan, to breathe fire.
We saw on Saturday how co-hosts Australia and New Zealand ran roughshod over England and Sri Lanka respectively. Pakistan will need to show similar aggression on what is expected to be a run-filled wicket at the Adelaide Oval. A few wickets of key Indian batsmen with the new ball and Pakistan will soon be running all over their old foes.
The key man for Pakistan when it comes to batting is going to be Misbah-ul-Haq. The skipper let his team down in Mohali four years ago and cannot afford to do that again. He is in top form and should anchor Pakistan’s innings. Misbah will need all out support from his senior lieutenants – Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan.
There has been a lot of debate over Younis and whether he deserves to be in the playing eleven. He might not have hit top form since the team’s arrival in the Southern Hemisphere but personally I believe Pakistan will drop Younis from this big game at their own peril. He is the man for the big occasion and I’m sure runs will flow from his bat against India.
Afridi, too, should be in his element considering that it will possibly be Lala’s last World Cup outing against India. He will need to bowl ten tight overs and a wicket or two will be perfect for Pakistan’s cause. But equally important will be how he fares with the bat coming in at number 7 in what is expected to be a high-scoring game.
Misbah is confident that it will not just be his senior colleagues but his entire team that will click in front of 54,000 fans in Adelaide in a match that is expected to attract a record global audience of more than a billion.
We will see that today but I’m sure about one thing. Misbah, for one, won’t be getting carried away.