Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has warned Pakistan ahead of their high-octane clash against India in New York. As the New York pitch has a lot of assistance for the bowlers, Manjrekar said Indian batters have the technique to survive in tough conditions.
The likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have all the experience under their belt and the duo is going to hold the key for the Indian team. Manjrekar feels the Pakistan batters could struggle to get going in tough conditions.
On the other hand, Pakistan also has a potent bowling attack as they have gun-fast bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “If the pitch stays the same like Sri Lanka vs South Africa, it would benefit India more. They can easily beat Pakistan because Indian batters have the technique to survive. Ones and twos are Virat Kohli’s game. In such conditions, Pakistani batters struggle a bit.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan suffered a 2-0 loss against England while playing in the English conditions. In fact, no Pakistan batter was able to cross the 50-run mark in these two games.
Manjrekar believes Indian batters will be able to counter Pakistan’s fast bowlers and thus they will enter the contest as favorites.
“Pakistan’s bowling is also not like – hit the deck, good length. Haris Rauf might do that otherwise pace and swing as Arshdeep does, similarly, Shaheen Afridi will bowl. If there’s the same pitch, India’s work will only get easier because batting will counter that challenge much better.”
India will open their campaign against Ireland in New York on Wednesday. The high-octane clash between India and Pakistan will be played at the same venue on June 9th.
