Kumble, Manjrekar and Mumtaz look ahead to the India-Pakistan game
Jeevan: “@ Cartoft: I get your point reg. India not travelling but I would not mind the host team getting out in the 1st round every once in a while. last few ODI WCs have been dominated by home teams”
affy: “I think Imam will play very well today because he has a point to prove. He knows it’s now or never, the next few performances bad then he is dropped forever in ODIs and it’s just Fakhar “
Srijith: “Historically Pak are most dangerous when they are pushed to a corner. They some how lift themselves from chaos situation to never before seen intensity. India need to watch out and be wary of the wounded tiger.”
Cartoft: “I’m an England supporter and would normally be neutral in this game. But I’m rooting for Pakistan because I think they have been grossly unfairly treated in having to play this match “away”. India get the benefit of playing all their matches at the same ground where they are familiar with the conditions and they have no travelling. Who wants to see the hosts go out in the first round?”
Animesh Pai: “I would think Chakravarthy needs to be in today’s side. Either in place of Kuldeep or Harshit Rana, depending on the pitch. While i would like to get Pant instead of KL Rahul to have one more left hand batter to counter Kushdil’s left arm orthodox and Abrar’s mystery.”
12.19pm Bumrah, dressed in a pristine white button-down shirt, is on the field. He greets his team-mates before they go into a huddle. Shubman Gill is addressing everyone before Gautam Gambhir takes over. Bumrah and Hardik then exchange hugs.
Nilashish: “Logic,form,stats all goes out of the window when India and Pakistan clash.Hoping for cracker of a match today..”
Sidd: “So Babar doesn’t like spinners spinning the ball into him, whereas Kohli doesn’t like spinners spinning the ball away from him… What a contest we have on our hands tonight!”
12.06pm Cheers Ekanth. Hello everyone. ‘All of the Line’ screams the hoardings across venues hosting the Champions Trophy in Dubai and Pakistan. It sums up Pakistan’s plight in this tournament. Babar Azam, by his high standards, doesn’t love the ball that turns into him. Can he conquer his spin demons against India?
Ravi Jonnalagad: “Hope I have WiFi in the flight. Worst day to pick a trip. Will be flying for the duration of the match :-)”
Suraj Acharya: ” India vs. Pakistan. The excitement is real, and we in Nepal are equally thrilled! Whom to cheer? Both are equal for us!
12pm: Weather? It’s always hot in Dubai. 30 degrees celsius is the reading as per Google but it looks super bright. Imam ul Haq and Babar Azam are out practicing. Pre-match interviews going on with players. Stands are fractionally filled but that should go up going on. From Fidel at the ground: On the concourse outside. Huge numbers of India shirts visible. Very few Pakistan ones so far. Deivarayan Muthu will come on now, say hi.
Ani: “You mentioned the most talented players as Virat, Rohit and Gill. And then go on to to say that India’s middle order is arguably stronger than the top. Bit contrary?” Not all of them are at their peaks, but they are remarkably talented.
But it’s also worth mulling over this bit from Sid Monga’s preview: Despite all the machinations, the cricketers respect each other and are civil to each other to the extent that it annoys those who want their own hatred to reflect on the field. The edge is also perhaps because of the gulf between the two sides.
Sabih: “What id like to see today is a bit more fire from both sides. Stop the lovey dovey smiles and leave them outside the ground. Inside…. It should be ON. “Shoaib Akhtar – Harbhajan replay plays in mind”” Anil Kumble, Urooj Mumtaz, and Sanjay Manjrekar also talked about this on Runorder.
Aaqib Javed plays down Ind-Pak hype: ‘What’s your focus? Ball, bat, that’s it’
Sabih: “I’ve got cricinfo open for the past 3 hours. Start it already !!! Can’t believe im so anxiously waiting for what is likely to be a painful watch for us Pakistani fans.”
Prasanna : “What time is the toss? ” 12:30pm local
11:55am: It’s tough to say where Pakistan are contextually located, despite the fact that it is simple that this is effectively a must-win game in a (mostly) home tournament. Fakhar Zaman is out with an injury, Babar Azam is not in form, and their death bowling was taken down by New Zealand in the tournament opener. But they’re a team built on miracles, stories and hope. It’s what made them champions in 2017. Can they channel that in again?
Dhaval : “I feel Pakistan are going to come out with a different energy. India needs to be at their best to counter Shaheen and Naseem. Pretty sure Bumrah will be missed dearly today. Excited plus Nervous!!”
Shumnan Gill on what makes him and Rohit tick: ‘The way we play is quite different to each other’
11:40am: India go in as favourites as they have been for a while against Pakistan. Both because they are stacked with some of the most talented players – not least Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill – and go in as tournament favourites. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah is a big miss, but their spinners are world class and have variety. Their middle order is arguably stronger than the top. And an off-day for
Hamza: “Nostalgia brings both sorrow and joy. As a Pakistani fan, my mind did not want this moment to come but my heart eagerly wanted. Time will tell If my mind was right or the heart.”
Vikram: “On a different note, feeling sad that Ian Chappell has decided to retire from writing. Reading his article on Cricinfo every Sunday morning had become a routine. Going to miss his point blank views about our beloved Game!”
Match Preview by Sidharth Monga: Pakistan in danger of leaving their own party early
11:30am: Hello from the mundane. It’s a day on which the phrase “it’s just another day” is used suspiciously frequently, when family members and friends rediscover bits of cricket fandom otherwise hidden in crevices, one where India and Pakistan – geographical neighbours – play a cricket match in a neutral country and all of us experience it together. On comms is me, Ekanth, Deivarayan Muthu will come in later. Alagappan Muthu will pen the live blog, Andrew Fidel Fernando is our correspondent in Dubai. Thanks for coming along, hope we have a great day ahead.
