ICC World Twenty20: 7:30PM - The Hunger Game

Cornered India meet Pakistan in high-octane, must-win clash
KOLKATA: Irony of ironies. It's an India-Pak match. In a World Cup. On home ground. And India have never lost a World Cup match against Pakistan. Yet, it is India and not Pakistan which is in a corner, a very tight one at that.
The pressure is huge and 90 per cent of it in the Indian dressing room, all thanks to the dismal loss against New Zealand at Nagpur and India staring an early ouster.
Pakistan, meanwhile, is in fifth gear, cruising after handing in a 55-run defeat to Bangladesh with Shahid Afridi coming into his own after a long time, scoring a 19-ball 49 and taking two crucial wickets. Mohammad Hafeez is all fired up and it was not long ago that comeback boy Mohammed Amir had left the Indian batters all shaken and stirred in his opening spell.
Top this with the worrying statistic that India has never won a limited over match against Pakistan at Eden Gardens, and the heart-in-the-mouth game promises to break many hopes, which side of the border that will be only the night — and the mindset of our batsmen — will tell.
With such high-expectation tension pods raining from Kolkata's skyline, Team India is indeed in a spot it would have given anything not to be in, especially Dhoni who is helming his last World Cup in any format.
And he has a job at hand. Regrouping the youngsters so close to an unexpected and decimating rout is an uphill task. He has done it many times and has the capability to inspire corrective action. Talking of corrective action, besides closing up on openers, Dhoni also has the onerous task of bringing back the momentum which the Kiwis stole from them with impunity for their trip to Dharamsala.
The issues with Team India remain the same — a shaken up opening trio, an under-tested middle order and vulnerability to swing bowling (Amir awaits).
The Eden Garden pitch may be full of runs but it is also perfect for Pakistan's pace devils in Sami, Amir and Irfan all of whom also have the added advantage of having acclimatised to the conditions and the pitch by practising and playing on it while India went hurtling down to orange country for what turned out to be a disastrous trip.
The match, as Pakistan coach Waqar Younis explained, will be won or lost in the first six overs, depending on how the Indian batsmen tackle the arm department of their rivals.
Pakistan are on a bed of roses. They have India by the tail, at least till Dhoni's men emerge with the teeth they really have. Their skipper Afridi is in season and the bowlers have always been their star strength. A defensive India would be enough to spur them into fierce action.
An India-Pakistan match has always been a psychological thriller, ever since Zia-ul-Haq associated the game with bilateral politics. Today will be no different, except for the fact that India will be fighting fiercely for survival — both of pride and prejudice. And, most importantly, whoever does to pressure what pressure does to you, will be the winner in this mind game on razor's edge.
Source: The Pioneer, 19 March, 2016

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