After a crushing defeat against New Zealand in the home series, Pakistan legend Wasim Akram remarked that his nation will now have the advantage if they play their neighbours in the longest format on spinning pitches.
For both these teams, the two giants and the foremost among cricket rivals, India and Pakistan, have contrasting ends to the month of October. Rohit Sharma’s men faced a crushing defeat against the Blackcaps as their weakness against spin was into the limelight.
On the other hand, Pakistan broke their jinx at home, as they finally won a home Test series after a span of 3 years. Pakistan spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who were brought into the side for the second and third Test against England, took 39 of the 40 English wickets and restricted the English to a score less than their first test score from all the innings of the 2nd and 3rd test combined.
Akram, while indulging in a conversation against English veteran Michael Vaughan during their commentary session at the MCG on Monday, commented with a stir of hope.
“I would want to see a Test series between India and Pakistan,” said the English great, not an admirer of Indian cricket. To this, Akram remarked, “It will be massive. It will be good for the game for two cricket-crazy nations.”
While Vaughan claimed that “Pakistan can now beat India on the turners,” Akram assured that “Pakistan have a chance to beat India in Tests now on a spinning track. They have been hammered by New Zealand 3-0 at home.”
India’s and Pakistan’s chances at the WTC
The arch-rivals, who have featured in several limited-over games, did not feature in a single red-ball series over a decade or more, with their final bilateral series in the longest format coming back in 2008 when India as hosts secured a 1-0 victory on the three-match series.
In the history of the WTC, India has already made it twice to the finals, while not so for Pakistan. On the other hand, Pakistan has again suffered a dismaying exit from the WTC for their third consecutive time, with India though displaced from the top position in sheer contention for the WTC final with desired results of 4-0 at the BGT.
However, if India loses further matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, it will only limit their chances of making it to the final, and they will rely on other teams for the results to go in their favour.
