What’s the Story?
Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir feels that India is too strong for Pakistan and they would defend their title in the all important ICC Champions Trophy final between the two sides which will be held at the Oval in London.
"For years the India-Pakistan contest has been a battle between India's batting and Pakistan bowling. Earlier, it used to be Shoaib (Akhtar) and Umar Gul vs us and now Amir is their best bowler. Given the flat nature of wickets in the competition so far I don't see any threat for India. May be Amir can do something out of ordinary, conditions permitting," Gambhir told PTI in an interaction.
“The key will be to control nerves, play your own game, in short play the game and not the event. I think India is heavy on experience, something that Pakistan lacks,” he continued.
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The Context
Both India and Pakistan inflicted huge defeats on England and Bangladesh respectively to set up a blockbuster of a final in the Champions Trophy. Both the sides won two matches each in the group stage with India defeating them in their first match of the tournament.
It was an easy win for India as they set up a total of 319 in 48 overs with the top four batsmen all scoring half centuries. With the match further being reduced to 41 overs after Pakistan came out to bat, the Indian bowlers ripped through their batting line-up and bowled them out for 164 with Umesh Yadav picking up three wickets.
The Details:
Gambhir also went on to speak about his preferred team combination for the final. He felt that Umesh should be given the go ahead in place of Ashwin given the bouncy nature of the Oval pitch. He also felt that subcontinent teams are comfortable against spin and hence Umesh should be playing in the final.
Gambhir himself is not going through a great time on the pitch as he was handed a four-match suspension from domestic cricket due to his alleged unpleasant confrontation with the head coach of the Delhi state side - KP Bhaskar.
Author’s Take
With India having had the upper hand against Pakistan over the past few years, especially in ICC events, one would expect India to go all the way and lift the trophy once again. As Gambhir said, Umesh should probably be given the nod ahead of Ashwin given the nature of the pitch and the ease with which the Pakistani batsmen can play spin.
