I will not say that India had a comfortable win against Bangladesh, though the scores reads that way. Had Gautam been consumed at third man, which was a sitter, the score would have read 96/4 and there would have been some butterflies in the Indian dressing room.
Still, when compared to Pakistan, India’s strength lies in its batting and fielding. Their main weak link is its bowling. Zaheer and Nehra are not in form and this would mean if Pakistan gets off to a flying start, India will only allow the weak batting strength of Pakistan to gain confidence and perform better. Going by the match played against Bangladesh, India will also think of roping in another spinner at the expense of Praveen Kumar.
Focus on Pakistan’s batting
Pakistan has the best bowling combination in this tournament and yet, they are placed 3rd. This is because of their batting display. Save for Afridi, the entire Pakistan looked pedestrian. Pakistan will likely have Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt to open the innings. As mentioned in my earlier column, Imran Farhat should come in as a replacement of the other opener. This would mean that the middle order will have some strength. Also, I would like to see Sajeed in the playing XI, may be at the expense of Md. Asif. Afridi must ensure that Salman Butt and Umar Akmal should be their main stay at the crease.Toss will be crucial as the team batting 1st has to score around 260 to ensure a comfortable win. The teams have to rely on spinners to restrict the opposition
Possible XI
India: Sehwag, Gambhir, Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja, Harbhajan, Praveen/Ashwin/Ojha, Zaheer, Nehra
Pakistan: Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, Umin Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Afridi, Razzak, Md Amer, Shoaib Akthar, Md.Asif/Sajeed,
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