The expectation, show, energy, and fan contribution are disparate in an India-Pakistan game and the chance of a fantasy T20 World Cup final between the two greatest opponents in cricket has got former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson energized.
The expectation, show, energy, and fan contribution are disparate in an India-Pakistan game and the chance of a fantasy T20 World Cup final between the two greatest opponents in cricket has got former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson energized.
The Asian opponents have previously conflicted once in the much-talked-about group stage match of the ongoing competition at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where Virat Kohli played one of the greatest T20 knocks.
Since, the two groups have arrived at the semi-final stage, though by taking contrasting routes, an India-Pakistan title clash is expected.
India will face England on Thursday in Adelaide, a day after New Zealand meets Pakistan in Sydney.
“Everyone would love to see Pakistan and India in the final,”
an excited Watson was quoted as saying by the official website of the event.
“I, unfortunately, missed that first (Super 12) game at the MCG, as I commentated the game previously between Australia and New Zealand,”
Watson said he knows what he missed and would love to see a re-match.
“But from all reports, all the people that went along to that game said it was something very special and the game was an amazing game to watch on TV as well. They played in the T20 World Cup final in 2007 and everyone would love to see it again,”
he said.
New Zealand looks like a settled side with a smooth run while Pakistan has huffed and puffed to the semifinals. However, Watson feels Pakistan will be a dangerous side in the semifinals.
“There are certain times in all tournaments where a team just falls across the line and somehow finds its way into the finals and then goes on to win it,” Watson noted.
“Especially when they weren’t expecting to make the semis because of the way they played at certain times throughout this tournament.
“The freedom they are going to have after not expecting much in the middle of the tournament, so the freedom they are going to have is going to be very dangerous for the Kiwis,” he said.
India Squad for World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami.
Standby Players: Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur.
Pakistan Squad for World Cup: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood.
Standby Players: Usman Qadir, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.
