KOLKATA: Former Indian cricket captain and left-handed batsman Sourav Ganguly said on Tuesday that India would once again beat Pakistan when the two arch rivals clash in their Champions Trophy encounter on June 4.
Speaking to an Indian TV channel, Sourav Ganguly said that the odds favoured India more than Pakistan as the former had dominated the latter in recent years.
“In the last 8 to 10 years there has been a massive difference in the quality between India and Pakistan and that has been one of the major reasons why India has continued to dominate Pakistan (in ICC events),” he said.
Ganguly said that he believed that ‘India will do it again in the Champions Trophy in Birmingham on the 4th of June’. The former Indian captain stated that Pakistan was not the side it used to be before post 2005 without the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq.
“But 2005 onward the Pakistan team has not been the same as it used to be. They have lost to India on quality, they have lost to India on ability and somehow India has reacted to big match pressure much better than Pakistan,” he said.
While Ganguly said that there was ‘rare brilliance’ in the Pakistani squad, he said that when under pressure, things have not worked out for the green shirts. On the contrary, he said that India played well under pressure and managed to win matches.
“Every time you see India under pressure, they are a team which would seem have soaked in the pressure. They have batted and played difficult situations well and then have dominated during the course of a cricket match. But with Pakistan, every time they have been put under pressure by India with the ball or with the bat, they have tried to hit their way out and have not been successful,” he said.
India play its opening game against Pakistan on June 4, after which it will face Sri Lanka and South Africa as well in the group stage of the tournament.
Will Sourav Ganguly prove to be true or will the green shirts vanquish India to defy the odds?