When Pakistan plays India in Ahmedabad tomorrow, Babar Azam believes the team won’t be scared by the nearly all-home audience, and he challenges his team to “become heroes” in an attempt to stop their disastrous World Cup run against the host country.
Due to visa processing delays, thousands of Pakistani supporters who had tickets to the most anticipated match of the group stage were unable to cross the border in time.
In a statement released earlier this week, the Pakistan Cricket Board expressed its “extreme disappointment” with the circumstances, which have impacted both spectators and media attending the competition.
As a result, it is anticipated that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which has a capacity of more than 130,000 and is the largest cricket venue in the world, will be even more partisan than usual.
The captain of Pakistan, Azam, stated, “This is not pressure because we have played in front of big crowds before, in front of big crowds in MCG and all the big stadiums.”
There are indeed stadiums nearby, and Ahmedabad will likely only be blue. So, it would have been beneficial for us if Pakistani fans had been permitted. They would thus back us. However, to be honest, I felt that there were a lot of Pakistani team supporters in Hyderabad when we arrived, and I anticipate that here as well. We are excited for the match. There are many supporters there, and Ahmedabad is a large stadium. Thus, this is a fantastic chance for us to dazzle the audience and win over their hearts.
The two nations do not currently play each other outside of competitions because of political concerns, and Pakistan has a dismal record in ODI World Cups, having lost all seven of their games with each other dating back to the 1992 tournament, which they eventually won.
India did lose to Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup for the first time, but they pulled off an incredible comeback to win a dramatic match in Melbourne during the next edition last year, and they won handily in the most recent Asia Cup match.
Azam continued, “I try to focus on the future rather than the past. “I attempt to smash records that are meant to be broken. I’ll do my best to perform well tomorrow, the actual day. Depending on how you play that day. I think my squad performed admirably in the first two games and will continue to perform well in the upcoming games.
Ishan Kishan will probably open the batting alongside captain Rohit Sharma, who broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most World Cup centuries earlier this week when he thrashed Afghanistan for the seventh time. The hosts are expected to be without Shubman Gill, who has been afflicted with dengue fever.
After Abdullah Shafique scored a century on his World Cup debut to lead the tournament’s record run-chase against Sri Lanka last time out, Pakistan likewise made early changes at the top of their order. With two victories out of two going into tomorrow’s match, both teams are undefeated.
