World Cup 2019: 5 aspects in which Pakistan will give stiff challenge to India when they face-off

Whenever India and Pakistan face off on a cricket field, It is much more than just a cricket match. But when India take on Pakistan on June 16 at Manchester it is going to be bigger than ever before given the political standoff between the two nations recently.

The team that wins will get reception of war heroes when they arrive back in their country regardless of how they perform in the World Cup after that. On the other hand, the team that loses might want to travel somewhere else rather than returning to their country immediately post the World Cup.

Needless to say that India has started as Cup favourites and enter the showpiece event as the world’s No.2 ranked ODI side. While Pakistan, on the other hand, Pakistan is ranked 6^th in ICC ODI rankings and have just come off an 11 match losing streak. But as history suggests, Pakistan can never ever be written off and they showed it when they beat the hosts and tournament favourites England by 14 runs. Let’s look at the 5 things that India need to be wary of against Pakistan.

1. The Mohammad Amir factor

Every Indian fan will remember the spell that Amir bowled against India in the Champions trophy final of 2017 when he took out India’s famed top 3 for just 16 runs. Amir’s record particularly against Rohit Sharma is very impressive and given his form in the last 2 matches, he is going to be Pakistan’s trump card with the new ball. So it is important for India to see off his first spell and don’t give him wickets with the new ball.

Also, Indian batsmen traditionally struggle against left-arm seamers, and if the conditions are overcast which can happen very frequently in England, it makes Amir even more dangerous.