Strong bowling attack gives Pakistan slight edge, says Aqib

KARACHI: Former Pakistan pacer and 1992 World Cup winner Aqib Javed believes that both India and Pakistan are equally balanced sides but the Green Shirts' strong bowling gives them an edge against the arch-rivals' in Sunday's World Cup match.

While talking to The News, Aaqib, who represented Pakistan in 163 ODIs and 22 Tests, spoke at length about the high-octane Indo-Pak clash which is expected to attract a sell-out crowd at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

He predicted that Pakistan’s current form gives them a lot of confidence, therefore, they hold the upper hand against the Rohit Sharma-led India.

Aaqib thinks that Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf is lethal, sharp and dangerous which no other team possesses, whereas, the performance of the all-rounders and spinners has also improved.

The former right-arm pacer not only gave Pakistan a slight edge due its strong bowling but also the experience of playing against top teams like England, and New Zeeland recently.

He further explained that if Pakistan’s bowlers are successful in containing the strong Indian batting line around 160-170, it won’t be too tough for Pakistani batters to chase down the target in the high-pressure encounter.

He believes that if Babar Azam’s-men are able to dismiss India’s top order early, then India will come under pressure and it will not be easy for India to get on top of Green Shirts bowlers.

Aaqib, who was instrumental in Pakistan's historic 1992 World Cup in Australia, still believes that the Men in Green will need to be mentally tough in order to emerge victorious as Sunday’s clash will be a game of nerves.

It should be noted that the flop performances of Pakistan’s middle-order batters have been a serious point to ponder as the entire battling line is dependent on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.