Cricket commentator Sapru on World Cup: Arshdeep X factor, Hardik best at No. 5, India will win

On 23 October, India is going to play its first match of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Everyone's eyes are on this match. Apart from the India-Pakistan rivalry in the T20 World Cup, it will be interesting to see if Team India will be able to make it to the top-4 with the changed bowling and batting lineup. At the same time, which will be the rest of the teams in the top-4 in the tournament. Indian commentator and sports anchor Jatin Sapru spoke to Bhaskar on the same subject.

Question- Will India be able to defeat Pakistan?

Answer- After the match that Pakistan won in the last World Cup, there has been a lot of faith in their team. The good thing is that India and Pakistan have faced each other twice in the Asia Cup 2022. Both the teams were tied at 1-1.

Team India will feel more pressure because we lost the last match with Pakistan. It is important to remember that there are two teams on the field and both teams work equally hard to win.

Margins are very less in T20 format. The rest of the formats are long, so the victory goes to the team which is better overall. In T20s, 2 back-to-back wickets or 2 bad overs can turn the whole match when margins are low. I think there will be a different atmosphere on Melbourne that day. This India-Pakistan match is going to be a memorable match.

Question- What about the batting lineup of Team India?

Answer- The team is very strong in terms of form. We have players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli who have the experience of playing on Australian pitches. Virat is a player of big matches. He knows how to chase the target in the second innings. He also has a special connection with Australia.

Suryakumar Yadav has also emerged. KL Rahul has also picked up the pace. Talking about Hardik Pandya, his playing at number 5 in the match is going in the interest of the team. When Pandya used to play at number 6 or 7, he had to keep in mind that there is not much batting after him.

When a finisher plays a shot, there is also a risk in it. In such a situation, he thinks whether to take the risk or not. Same was the case with Pandya. Now when Hardik comes at number 5, he knows that there are batsmen even after him. In such a situation, he also plays such shots in which there is little risk.

Pandya gives a different direction to the team at number 5. I think he will be seen playing a big role in Australia.

Question- What do you think about the bowling of Team India?

Answer- There is a big challenge in front of India, but the World Cup will be memorable only when the team goes ahead and wins these challenges. We also remember Gabba's match because we could hardly produce 11 players during that match.

Players were getting injured one after the other. Even then Australia was still Australia. This is an opportunity for another player. What has passed is gone. You can't do anything. Now the team has to look ahead. Let's see now which player says that I will do this World Cup in my name.

Question- How do you see the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the team?

Answer- I think Arshdeep Singh is going to be the X factor of this tournament, because he can bowl with the new ball and perform in the death overs as well. Arshdeep Singh has a huge opportunity in front of this tournament. With his performance, he can prove this World Cup to be a milestone in his short cricket career.

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