Former Pak captain Zaheer Abbas says India's batting strength is too good for the inexperienced Afridi & co
Pakistan will have to wait another four years to break their World Cup hoodoo against India, if their former captain Zaheer Abbas is to be believed. The batting legend has tipped India to be the favourites for tomorrow's World Cup semi-final here.
"India are the favourites because they are playing at home and given of their batting strength. They can challenge any team," Abbas told MiD DAY yesterday.
The 63-year-old former captain said that India's world-class batting line-up would compensate for its weak bowling whereas Pakistan's drawback was their "inexperience".
"I know that India's bowling is not that good but that will be made up by the batting department," Abbas said.
"Pakistan's minus point is their inexperience. Yes, they are playing well and they are playing as a unit. If they can do that, they can overcome any obstacle. But India are such a big team and have so much weight. I will be happy if Pakistan win, but it will be a little difficult for them."
Abbas, a stylish right-hander from whom former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin took batting tips, scored 5062 runs in 78 Tests at an impressive 44.79. That average nearly doubled when he played against India ” 87.00 with 1740 runs in 19 Tests. His tally of 583 runs ” including scores of 176, 96 and 235 in successive innings ” in the three-Test series in 1978-79 was a world record then.
Abbas said tomorrow's match was India's to lose while Pakistan had "nothing to lose".
"India have more match-winners than Pakistan. In the bowling department you have Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, and in batting you have Sachin (Tendulkar), (Virender) Sehwag, Yuvraj (Singh), Dhoni ” plenty, plenty," the legend said.
"Unless India make silly mistakes, I don't see them losing. Pakistan have got nothing to lose because they've already reached the semi-finals, which is creditable. (Shahid) Afridi is leading the side very judiciously. "Pakistan are playing as a team. They are not dependent on one or two individuals. Their main aim is that they want to show the world that they are not inferior to anybody. Hum kisi se kum nahin is a great attitude to be a winner."
Abbas, who scored his 100th first-class hundred against India - 215 in Lahore in 1982-83, did not favour bringing back Shoaib Akhtar into the playing eleven although the Mohali track was expected offer pace and bounce. "I am not sure whether Shoaib should be given an opportunity or not. Will Afridi accept the idea of changing the winning combination? I think we should leave it to the captain," he said.
Abbas said the prime ministers of the two countries coming together to watch the match augured well for the bilateral cricket ties. "The door may open for Pakistan and India to play cricket again. This meeting (of the prime ministers) will be a great factor for the revival of Indo-Pak cricket series," he said.
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