India great Sunil Gavaskar says the pressure will be on Pakistan in Sunday’s highly anticipated World Cup clash between the arch-rivals but believes the weather could play a key role.
Virat Kohli’s India start as favourites in the round-robin match at Old Trafford, with two wins and a no result so far.
Pakistan, led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, are struggling, with just one win — an upset against hosts England – two defeats and a washout.
“It’s a must-win game for them (Pakistan). If they don’t win, it’ll be very tough,” Gavaskar wrote in a column for the ICC.
“The fact it’s an old rivalry means it will be followed closely by the people of both countries, but Pakistan have had a bit of a stumble so far so there’s probably a bit more pressure on them.”
But the threat of rain looms large over the high-profile contest, which is expected to be watched by up to one billion people on TV.
“If it’s a proper 50-overs game I think India have the strength to win,” said Gavaskar, who was part of India’s World Cup-winning squad in 1983.
“But if gets truncated, if it’s a game that gets reduced to 30 overs or less, anything can happen.”
