5 talking points as India and Pakistan prepare for CWC19 clash
June 16 (CRICKETNMORE) - Almost 800,000 applications for tickets and more than a billion viewers expected worldwide – when India take on Pakistan it’s always a must-see event. Sunday’s clash at
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He’s still only 24 years old but Pakistan hope that in the long-term, Babar Azam can be their answer to Kohli.
That’s a huge ask for any young player but the classy right-hander is certainly on the right track and is already ranked as the number one batsman in international T20 cricket.
Heading into this World Cup, Babar had played 64 ODIs in which he had made 2,739 runs at 51.67 (including nine hundreds and 12 fifties), with a strike rate of 85.96.
Those are numbers that compare favourably to Kohli at that stage of his career – after 64 ODIs, the Indian superstar had accumulated 2,347 runs at 43.49 (including six hundreds and 16 fifties), with a strike rate of 82.14.
It’s what Kohli did next and how his game developed that puts him among the all-time greats but Babar, who is yet to clear 50 in four matches against India, could certainly take another step down that path by leading Pakistan to victory on Sunday.
Bumrah bringing his best
As the number one bowler in the ICC ODI rankings, Jasprit Bumrah provides India with another consistently potent weapon with the ball, although he hasn’t quite hit the heights in his four one-dayers against Pakistan.
Bumrah has taken just four wickets in those matches and the 0/68 from the Champions Trophy final in 2017 remain his worst figures in ODI cricket to date.
An average of 35.75 against Pakistan isn’t in the same league as his stellar mark of 21.98 during his ODI career as a whole but the 25-year-old has already demonstrated his quality during this World Cup with a scintillating spell in India’s opener against South Africa that caused fits for the Proteas top order.
Heading into the World Cup, nobody in world cricket had taken more wickets at the death than Bumrah’s 44 since his ODI debut against Australia in January 2016, so if the game does go down to the wire – India can boast just the man for the job.
ICC
