Amarnath expects India to beat Pakistan

Posted on 13th Feb 2015 05:16 pm by mohit kumar

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) Former cricketer Mohinder Amarnath expects India to beat Pakistan in their blockbuster World Cup opener at the Adelaide Oval Sunday.

Though they have a stronger ODI record against India, Pakistan have never been able to beat the defending champions in five World Cup contests till date, the last of which came four years ago in the semi-final at Mohali.

"There is not much of a difference between the two teams. Both have good individual players but I will go with the record. India has always done and played well against Pakistan in World Cup. But if India wins this time, it will be because of their batting and not bowling," Amarnath told IANS on the sidelines of a Royal Stag Perfect Strokes event.

Interestingly, this will be India's first World Cup fixture against Pakistan which will not feature batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who retired from One-Day Internationals (ODI) in 2012.

Tendulkar, who has been roped in as the ICC World Cup 2015 ambassador, played in all India matches against their arch-rivals in the 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2011 editions of the mega event.

"Tendulkar has been a great player but every player has to retire and you can't get a replacement of his calibre anywhere. Not only him but players like Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, V.V.S. Laxman, Yuvraj Singh are irreplaceable," added Amarnath, who was man-of-the-series during India's 1983 World Cup triumph.

Other news

IPL 2024: Hardik Pandya should play this role for Mumbai Indians, AB De Villers made a big revelation

Five-time winning team Mumbai Indians will be captained by Hardik Pandya for IPL 2024. The franch

IND vs AUS: Australian opener's condition is also like Rohit Sharma, the former captain said- take retirement after Sydney test

Australian opener Usman Khawaja's condition is similar to that of Indian captain Rohit Sharma at

Bilawal Bhutto: SCO Meeting Jaishankar lashed out in the presence of the Pakistani Foreign Minister, saying – cross-border terrorism is not tolerated

The meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers started on Friday in Panaji, Goa. Before the

Delhi Yamuna Water Level: Yamuna's water level crossed 208.05 meters, Kejriwal said - people should vacate the house; LG called a meeting today

On the rising water level in Yamuna, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called an emergency meeting a

Modi Cabinet Meeting: Modi cabinet's first meeting today, BJP President Nadda made this special arrangement for the new ministers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet meeting is likely to be held on Monday evening at his resi

Bharat Bandh: Bhopal police on alert regarding Bharat Bandh in protest against SC-ST reservation decision, keeping an eye on law and order

Many organizations have called for Bharat Bandh today in protest against the SC-ST reservation de

Children suddenly started banging their heads, school administration panicked: Such people can change their voice, not ghosts, this is mass hysteria

In a school in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand, 8 children start crying, screaming, rolling on the ground,

Pakistan ranks first in the list of 82 countries most affected by China: Report

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that a new study measuring Beijing's growing global domi

SL vs NZ: New Zealand won the first ODI by 198 runs, it is difficult for Sri Lanka to qualify for the World Cup

The lethal bowling of Harry Shipley (5/31) helped New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 198 runs in the f

Politics on the telecast of PM meeting: Modi interrupts Kejriwal - working against tradition, Kejriwal's reply - I apologize if I feel unconcerned

A strange incident came to light in the meeting of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers on Frid