One of cricket’s greatest – and bitter – rivalries adds another chapter as India and Pakistan face off in ‘massive’ World Cup clash at the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad .
India skipper Rohit Sharma said the team remains confident ahead of the huge showdown between the arch-rivals and confirmed teammate Shubman Gill is “99% available to play” after the opener recovered from dengue fever .
The two powers renew their rivalry on Saturday at the 132,000-seat Narendra Modi Stadium, named after the Indian Prime Minister.
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Favorites India won their two opening matches in the showpiece 50-over event to leapfrog five-time winners Australia and then Afghanistan.
Rohit said the team gained momentum after winning the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and then beating Australia in a three-match series.
“Rhythm is very important. If you look at it in other words, it is called momentum,” Rohit told reporters on the eve of the much-anticipated match.
“We played seven or eight matches in India and before that in Sri Lanka and here also we played two World Cup matches.”
He added: “The bowlers showed very good performance. Whether it was spinners or seamers, whenever they got a chance to put pressure on the batsmen, they did it. All the batsmen scored runs.
Tournament favorites India beat Australia by six wickets and then beat Afghanistan by eight wickets building on Rohit’s record seventh world C2up century on Wednesday.
Boult hits a superb first-ball wicket | 00:28
India also enjoys an unbeaten record against Pakistan in seven World Cup encounters, but Rohit is not reading much into that.
“I’m not one to look at those kinds of statistics. We need to play good cricket on the day to win the match and that is what we will focus on,” Rohit said.
“And how we are going to play good cricket, that is understanding the conditions, what is required from a team point of view and things like that.”
With Pakistani fans still waiting for visas to travel to India, the huge stadium is expecting a capacity crowd for the key competition.
Rohit, who had earlier spoken about the need to eliminate outside noise for the big match, said the team remained focused on playing quality opposition.
“As I’ve said many times before, in the context of this one, yes, it’s a huge game. But for us, what is important is that we play quality opposition tomorrow,” he said.
“So we just have to play quality opposition and play good cricket, which we have done in the last two games. And I hope we can show some consistency in our performances again. India crushed Pakistan by 228 runs in the Asia Cup Super Four competition – their last ODI meeting – in Colombo last month.
But Rohit said there would be no “psychological advantage” against a team that has also won its first two World Cup matches.
“As I said, we shouldn’t pay too much attention to what is already finished,” he said.
“We must pay attention to the new day, to the new opposition. Both teams will start tied. I don’t think there is a favorite or an underdog.
The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (AEST).
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