ICC CWC 2023: A look at performances from pacers ahead of IND-PAK clash

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India]: The high-octane clash between India and Pakistan clash is just a few hours away, set to take place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, and a key focus of this contest will be the pace attack of both the teams.

While the Indian pace attack has fearsome names like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya, Pakistan’s pace attack also has developed expectations because of performances and high pace of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah.

While Naseem is out due to an injury in the World Cup, his partners in pace have largely struggled without him.

In four matches of WC so far, including two warm-up matches, Shaheen has leaked 128 runs in 22 overs at an economy of 5.18 and has just taken two wickets in the tournament so far. He leaked 66 runs against Sri Lanka, which was a high-scoring match. He failed to pick-up wickets in warm-up matches.

Haris Rauf in these four matches, has given away 240 runs at an economy rate of 7.5 runs per over in 32 overs. He has managed to take six wickets in the tournament including warm-up games, but his economy rate is a concern.

Hasan has looked the best out of three, giving away 193 runs at an economy rate around 6 in 31 overs. But he has also taken six seven in the tournament, including warm-ups. He leaked 71 runs against Sri Lanka and 66 runs against New Zealand in just 7.4 overs in a warm-up match.

Overall, the Pakistan pace attack has given away 561 runs in around 85 overs at an economy rate of 6.6 overs. They have just 15 out of all 40 wickets combined, which is not really good as per the standard set by them.

On the other hand, since the second ODI against Australia of the bilateral series before the World Cup, Jasprit Bumrah has led the Indian pace attack with nine wickets in three matches. He has leaked 155 runs in 30 overs at an economy rate of 5.1 runs per over. He delivered figures of 4/39 in ten overs against Afghanistan. Bumrah has six WC wickets so far.

In a similar time frame, Siraj has taken only one wicket in his debut WC so far. Since the second ODI against Australia, he has given away 170 runs at an economy of around 6.8 in around 25 overs, with only two wickets. Siraj is the player that needs to get his economy and wicket-taking better.

Pandya, another pace-bowling all-rounder who has featured in both WC matches, has leaked 71 runs in 10 overs at an economy of 7.1 and taken three wickets. He took 2/43 against Afghanistan.

Shami featured in the ODI series against Australia, playing two matches. He took six wickets and gave away 90 runs in 16 overs at an economy rate of 5.6 runs. He took 5/51 in the first ODI against Australia. He is yet to feature in WC so far.

Shardul played two ODIs against Australia and one WC match against Afghanistan. But so far, he has taken just one wicket. He has leaked 144 runs in 20 overs, with an economy rate of 7.2 per over.

Overall, the Indian pace attack has taken 21 wickets among five players, giving away 630 runs at an economy rate of 6.2 overs in 101 overs.

Despite a larger talent pool and scattered matches, Indian pacers have managed to give away runs at a lesser economy rate. Though Pandya, Shardul and Siraj need to work on economy rate and wicket-taking equally.

This match comes after India’s two matches against the arch-rivals during a winning Asia Cup campaign. One match, held in the group stage was abandoned due to rain while India registered a thumping win in the next clash during the Super Four stage.

India began their World Cup campaign with a victory over Australia, while Pakistan has two victories in two matches to build momentum ahead of the major encounter.

Fans will be hoping that megastars of Men in Blue, such as Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj keep up with their consistent performances to continue the country’s winning streak with Pakistan in 50-over World Cups and come out with 8-0 win against the arch-rivals in the World Cup.

India has dominated the head-to-head record in ODI World Cup matches with ‘Men in Blue’ winning all seven games against the arch-rival, boasting a 100 per cent win record till now.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.