Gundappa Viswanath: Team combination gives India the upper hand over Pakistan

IND vs PAK, ICC World Cup 2023: India’s batting great Viswanath feels Rohit’s men should not dwell on past World Cup records against Pakistan.

Vishwanath lauded Rohit and Kohli for getting important runs on the board and said that once Shubman Gill returned, India would become a much more solid batting unit. | Photo Credit: The Hindu/PTI

India’s batting great Gundappa Viswanath believes the home team should start afresh instead of dwelling on its envious 7-0 record against Pakistan in ODI World Cups.

“It’s a new tournament, and the Indian team looks solid in every aspect. Those (7-0) records are history now,” Viswanath told Sportstar on Friday.

Viswanath, now a World Cup expert with Star Sports Kannada, thinks that India’s overall team composition provides Rohit Sharma’s men with an advantage over their rivals.

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“Both teams have had good games so far, having won the first couple of fixtures. But India enjoys an upper hand, not because of the 7-0 record, but because of its team combination,” he said.

“Our bowlers have done well. Returning from injury, Jasprit Bumrah has bowled superbly in the last two games, and now that he picked up four wickets against Afghanistan, it will give a lot of confidence not only to him but also to the other bowlers.”

With left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav also among the wickets—he has three from two matches so far—negotiating Indian bowlers will be an uphill task.

“They chased down a huge total against Sri Lanka, and Rizwan batted beautifully according to the situation. He is a consistent performer, and against Sri Lanka, he not only scored a beautiful hundred but also guided the team home very easily. Batting wise, they are quite sorted, but they are struggling with their pace bowling,” he said.

In the absence of Naseem Shah, the pace department is being led by Shaheen Afridi. However, in the first two games, the 23-year-old struggled and could only take two wickets.

“Shaheen is not among the wickets. If he doesn’t take wickets in the first spell, he will be struggling to find breakthroughs later on. Even their spinners are not up to the mark, and on the other side, India’s batting looks solid with all the top batters among runs,” Viswanath said.

“In the last game, Rohit scored a brilliant hundred, and Kohli is always getting runs, and once Shubman Gill returns, it becomes a much more solid Indian batting unit. Everything put together, India has the advantage.”

After recovering from dengue, Gill joined the Indian team for training on Friday. During a media interaction, India captain Rohit said Gill is “99% available” for the India vs. Pakistan World Cup fixture in Ahmedabad on Saturday.