‘Insha'Allah, Pakistan will defeat India’: PM Imran Khan backs Babar Azam’s men to script history

With an aim of defying history, Pakistan will take on India in their first match of the T20 World Cup 2021. The marquee game takes place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on October 24 (Sunday). With these two sides being arch-rivals, the encounter is highly awaited and it would be interesting to see how the proceedings unfold.

It has to be noted that Pakistan have never defeated India in a World Cup match. The two sides have met 12 times in World Cups – 7 in ODIs and 5 in T20Is – and India emerged winner every single time. However, many members of the Pakistan cricket fraternity have been backing the Men in Green to end the losing streak this time around. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is the latest to join the bandwagon.

Pakistan have the talent to defeat India: Imran Khan

Having led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup title, Imran Khan reckoned the current Pakistan team has the talent to defeat India. “Insha’Allah, Pakistan will definitely beat India tomorrow,” he was quoted as per saying by Geo TV. Meanwhile, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam stressed that the past record is irrelevant to his players.

“To be honest, what has passed is beyond us. We want to use our ability and confidence on the day of the match so that we can get a better result. Records are meant to be broken,” Azam had said. Having said this, the talismanic cricketer also admitted that Indo-Pak clashes tend to put players under the pressure.

“The matches between Pakistan and India are always full of intensity so we need to perform well in all three departments of the game,” opined Babar. Players of both teams have played a lot of cricket in UAE and would be well versed with the conditions. While the Pakistan side has been playing international matches in the Gulf nation in recent years, the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) took place in UAE.

Speaking of the recent form, India comprehensively defeated two of the biggest teams, England and Australia in the warm-up matches. On the other hand, Pakistan couldn’t defend 186 against South Africa in their recent practice game. Hence, they have some issues to be solved.