Spectator interest in the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies and United States has been tepid. This is mainly because of the high ticket prices.
But the scenario is bound to change when India play Pakistan in New York on Sunday (10.30pm Singapore time). It is expected to be a full-house, with some fans reportedly willing to fork out US$20,000 ($27,000) for a seat.
India and Pakistan have a storied sporting rivalry. But they rarely engage in a bilateral series these days because of political issues.
So, for fans of the two national teams, them engaging in a battle for honours in a major tournament on a neutral ground is a big reason to buy a ticket whatever the cost and enjoy the proceedings.
T20 is slam-bang cricket. The shortest format of the sport is mainly aggressive batting, bowling and fielding over 160 minutes, often producing spectacular outcomes.
But it can also throw up unexpected results, only taking a batter to play out of his skin or a bowler to hit unplayable lengths to turn a match around.
On current form, India are favoured to beat Pakistan. Their players have arrived after the demanding Indian Premier League and thrashed Bangladesh in a warm-up game and Ireland in India’s World Cup opener on Wednesday.
Both matches were at the 37,000-capacity Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in East Meadow, the venue for the India-Pakistan clash.
On the other hand, Pakistan have had an unsettling captaincy change, with batsman Babar Azam recently replacing fast-bowler Shaheen Afridi.
The team have not fared well in recent T20 matches, losing to Ireland and England. They were also scheduled to play a solid-looking US side on Thursday night (Singapore time).
But the Pakistanis are doughty fighters and will surely unite and lift their game against India.
Like most India-Pakistan matches, it is mainly going to be a contest between India’s batters and Pakistan’s fast bowlers.
India’s batting line-up, led by captain Rohit Sharma, the prolific Virat Kohli and world No. 1 T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav, includes a plethora of left-handers. Pakistan are heavily dependent on the seasoned Babar and wicket-keeper Mohammed Rizwan for runs.
It is in the speed bowling area that Pakistan have the upper hand, with Shaheen, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Amir having the ability to rip through any innings.
But, though Pakistan have experienced spinner Shadab Khan, India’s bowling is more balanced. Led by the world No. 1 T20 bowler Jasprit Bumrah and the quick Mohammed Siraj, they also have crafty spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
India have lost only once to Pakistan at the T20 World Cup in seven meetings – their only defeat coming in 2021 when the Kohli-led side lost by 10 wickets at the Super 12 stage.
The last time they met, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2022, Kohli single-handedly took India to victory by smashing an undefeated 82 off just 53 deliveries in what is widely rated as among the greatest knocks in T20 World Cup history.
On Sunday, any batting heroics could be limited because of the excessive seam movement and bounce on the New York drop-in pitch.
In the two World Cup matches held there, the team batting first, Sri Lanka and Ireland, were not able to score more than 96 runs, and most top-order batsmen were seen fumbling, ducking and weaving because of the unpredictable bounce.
The pitches, brought in from Australia, are underprepared and haven’t had the time to bed in. Pitch No. 1 was used for the first time when Sri Lanka batted on it. They were bowled out for 77 and South Africa sweated in the chase. The pitch that hosted Ireland’s 96 all out against India was being used for only the second time.
India showed their bowling prowess on the New York pitch on Wednesday. Pakistan have quicker bowlers with higher release points, making it an even bigger challenge for batters.
Perhaps two menacing bowling attacks will even out the toss advantage. Then the likelihood is a low-scoring thriller.
By V. K. Santosh Kumar
