Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 13 : Ahead of India's clash against Pakistan, the childhood coach of spinner Kuldeep Yadav, Kapil Pandey, urged the team to maintain pressure on the arch-rivals, not lose their temper in the light of the current strained political relations between both nations and score at least 250 if batting first.
The clash between India and Pakistan during the ongoing Asia Cup, the first nation between these two meetings since the Pahalgam terror attacks and in April and consequent launch of Operation Sindoor by Indian Armed Forces, will take place in Dubai on Sunday. The match is still taking place despite plenty of opposition from fans and politicians alike. Just like nearly India-Pakistan match, tempers could flare up during the course of the match, with both teams aiming to maintain the upper hand over each other.
Speaking to ANI, Kapil said, "There is a lot of hype for this match and a lot of opposition as well. Despite this, the match is being played. To play that match at this time, there is a lot of pressure within the players. Because we have to win this match at any cost. And to play something to win 100 per cent, there is a lot of pressure on us."
"The government and our people have given a befitting reply to the deeds done by Pakistan, and we stayed united. The team should also stay united and play and wreck havoc on Pakistan team, show them the ground. The batters should not lose their temper, keep that pressure up and handle it just like any other normal match. The Pakistan team is not a "haua" (something extraordinary)," he added.
The coach also said that Team India's batting and bowling is at "top level".
"Our openers are Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. We also have Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma and a strong middle order, who can change the game. In the bowling, we have Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, and we look compact as a unit," he added.
Kapil admitted that the while legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the "Bhisma Pitamahs" of Indian cricket are no longer playing T20Is, the current skipper Suryakumar Yadav is leading team well.
"The team coordination is really good. Against UAE, Kuldeep took four wickets for seven runs. We have played them many times, beat them many times in Asia Cup. We have to handle pressure well, stay relaxed. We should also score 250 runs if asked to bat and bowl them out for the lowest score to keep the pressure on Pakistan. The behavior of the wickets is different, sometimes there is a lot of bounce, sometimes a lot of spin," he concluded.
India kick-started their campaign with a nine-wicket win over UAE, while Pakistan secured a 93-run win over Oman on Friday.
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.
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