Indians under pressure, Pakistan will start out as favourites: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar feels that Pakistan will start out as the favourites against India this time around when both the teams meet in the mouth-watering contest of the World T20 at the Eden Gardens on March 19.

The Indians had a very bad start to the tournament with a stunning loss to New Zealand while Pakistan thrashed Bangladesh in their opening game.

“After the loss to New Zealand, India will be under far more pressure against Pakistan. I feel Pakistan start as favourites for the game on Saturday,” Gavaskar told NDTV news.

Gavaskar states that the much-awaited clash will be about India’s batting line-up versus Pakistan’s bowling attack like as usual.

“It is still pretty much Indian batting versus Pakistan bowling. However, with the way Indian bowlers have performed recently, they also won’t be easy to tackle either. Ashwin (Ravichandran) is bowling well and so is Nehra (Ashish), ever since he has made a comeback. Then you have Jasprit Bumrah. So it will be a test for Pakistani batsman.”

“Having said that, it only takes an over and half to turn the game around in T20,” said the former India captain. Left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir posed problems for India in Asia Cup and Gavaskar hopes the Indian batsmen have learnt how to face him early on.

“Hopefully, Rohit (Sharma) and others know that unlike many other left arm pacers, Amir has the ability to swing the ball back. Rohit and Rahane were found wanting against him in Asia Cup. So they have to careful for the first couple of overs and once you are set, there is always an opportunity to score,” he added.

Statistically, India has never lost to Pakistan in a world event while Pakistan has never lost to the hosts at the iconic Eden Gardens.