Team India will have to play the first three overs carefully: Mohammad Kaif

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New Delhi. Ahead of the much-anticipated Asia Cup clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif shared valuable insights on how the Man in Blue can counter the formidable pace and swing of Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen Afridi.

Kaif stressed on the importance of opening overs and maintaining a restrained approach in the initial stages of the match.

Kaif told Disney+Hotstar, “You can practice all you want, but that experience of seeing Shaheen Afridi taking his ball, swinging and his pace on match day, cannot be recreated in practice Is. Of course, practice is good, but such an effect cannot be made. You still need to try, and try to figure out the technique but Shaheen Afridi’s throwing, walking or distance running cannot be done in practice.

Highlighting that India have suffered early setbacks when facing Pakistan, often losing crucial wickets in the opening overs, Kaif said the top-order batsmen need to be especially careful against the pacers. Will be required, who is known for his swing bowling and ability to take early wickets.

Kaif said, “Whenever India has lost, KL Rahul or Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli have been dismissed in the first few overs. But I believe that if they survive in the third or fourth over without losing a wicket, then The match will change. After that, you have a strong Indian team with Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, who can do well. The key is in the 3rd over as the ball swings more, the team needs to deal with that. Needed. This is his biggest challenge for the openers and Virat Kohli.

As India prepares to compete with Pakistan on September 2, Kaif also hinted that the upcoming match is going to be Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam.

“Virat Kohli is an in-form batsman and both the great batsmen will be seen facing each other. It is best vs best where Virat Kohli has a batting average of 57, and Babar Azam has 59. Oh God! Babar Azam has gone ahead of Kohli, so on September 2 this big match is going to happen.

Kaif said, “In terms of centuries, as far as I know, Virat has 46 and Babar has 19. Although, Babar has played less matches and Virat has played more matches, but he has 46 centuries to his name!”

As the cricket world eagerly awaits the India-Pakistan encounter, Kaif’s strategic insight could prove valuable for Team India as they prepare to face the ferocious bowling attack of Afridi at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Saturday. Are.

(IANS)

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