Till last October, India were undefeated against Pakistan in World Cup meetings, winning all 12 matches – seven in ODIs and five in T20Is. Although the two sides have faced each other thrice in the last 12 months, Pakistan has won twice – one in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the other in the 2022 Asia Cup.
Regarding the blockbuster 2022 T20 World Cup in Melbourne, Ramiz Raja said that the India-Pakistan match is more a mental battle than a physical one. He said that earlier Pakistan was considered the underdog in World Cup matches against India, but with things changing, even the Men in Blue have started respecting Pakistan as a more serious cricketing side. He was therefore admired and criticized for praising Babur & Co for defeating this “billion dollar side” given the limited resources compared to its Indian counterpart.
“It is more a mental match than skill and talent. So if you were strong by nature and mentally focused that he is not ready to give up then even the small team has the power to beat the big team. And Pakistan has always been the underdog whenever we have faced India, but recently, we should give respect because they think that Pakistan can never beat us. So this I say give credit to Pakistan why we beat a billion dollar team cricket industry. I myself have played the World Cup, we could not beat India. Credit should be given to this team as compared to India with limited resources, they prepare and fight hard,” he said.
India will face Pakistan in their 2022 T20 World Cup opening match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 October.