India’s strengths overpower Pakistan’s flaws: Kaneria predicts winner of IND vs PAK clash
by Keyur Jain · Inside Sport IndiaDanish Kaneria predicts his favorite team to win during the India vs Pakistan clash in the Champions Trophy,
Former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria, feels that Mohammad Rizwan’s team will find it very hard to beat India in their upcoming match in the Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Kaneria on IND vs PAK
Kaneria believes that India will win the match. “The scenario is crystal clear. I don’t think there is much hype this time because Pakistan is not playing good cricket. India is playing excellent cricket. You can see the form of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill—it’s a delight to watch him. There is definitely pressure. This is a match against India, and there is always pressure. We have promised so many things, but we didn’t focus on cricket, we didn’t focus on the players, we didn’t focus on the player combination—who should play where—we just didn’t focus on that.” he said.
Kaneria pointed out why India are favourite to win
Kaneria pointed out that Pakistan hasn’t been doing well lately. They didn’t perform as expected in the Tri-Nation Series and drew 1-1 in a Test series at home against the West Indies. On the other hand, India has bounced back strongly after losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia. They came back and beat England in the white-ball series.
“After the debacle in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, India defeated England in the white-ball series at home. They got their confidence back as Rohit and Virat scored runs, while Shami silenced critics with his bowling and bagged a fifer against Bangladesh,” said Kaneria.
India’s spin threat vs Pakistan
Kaneria also talked about India’s strong spin attack. He mentioned that Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, usually struggles against left-arm spinners. “India have better spinners, and Babar Azam struggles against left-arm spinners. How will he tackle Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel? On the other hand, Pakistan lacks a quality spinner. We’ve seen Virat and other Indian batters struggle against leg-spinners, but Pakistan doesn’t have one to exploit that weakness. This match is huge, but I don’t see Pakistan having any chance of winning on February 23,” said Kaneria.
More on Cricket
Kaneria praises Shubman Gill
He also praised Shubman Gill’s excellent century for India and pointed out that without the right intent, it will be very hard for Pakistan to beat India, especially on Dubai’s slow pitches.
“Shubman Gill scored a classical century. If you don’t have the intent, winning against India will be very difficult. Dubai pitches are dry and slow, making it tough to play against India’s quality bowling attack, even in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah,” he added.
Key players in IND vs PAK game
Kaneria shared his thoughts on the key players for this important match. For Pakistan, he picked Khushdil Shah, Saud Shakeel, and Shaheen Afridi. For India, he mentioned Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Harshit Rana.
“In Fakhar’s absence, Khushdil Shah and Salman Agha have the ability to step up. Saud Shakeel is technically sound and can make a big difference. In the bowling department, Shaheen is the most experienced bowler. For India, Shubman Gill will be the X-factor, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are also crucial. Harshit Rana will play a key role in the bowling attack,” Kaneria concluded.