00:00Harbhajan, I started off by saying, you know, this encounter is special and it's a high
00:04pressure game and so on and so forth.
00:06Do you still believe that India Pakistan have that edge like it used to when you were playing?
00:12Well, the competition wise, it's not there anymore.
00:15I believe that India is way ahead in this game.
00:18Yes.
00:20And the hype wise, of course, the media have created a great hype as a, you know, ever,
00:25you know, they they're good to do that.
00:27So we are also part of it.
00:29That's exactly what I was going to say.
00:31So, yeah, in terms of cricketing skills wise, you know, those days are gone.
00:36The Pakistan team was a very, very good team and they had a not a very good record in the
00:41World Cup.
00:42But yes, in Champions Trophies, they have got a good record against India.
00:47But now, if you see these two teams, India is way, way ahead in this game because you
00:52see their batting is perfect.
00:55Cricketing wise, they have spin, fast bowling, everything is covered, whereas the Pakistanis,
01:01they have lost their first game at their home.
01:04And now they're here in different conditions, which they'll have to adapt from there to
01:09here.
01:10It'll be a drastic change.
01:11They are not scoring runs in Pakistan.
01:13Those are batting conditions.
01:14Here it'll be even tougher for them.
01:16So right.
01:17As Harbhajan sets this game up for us, telling us various factors which make us the Indian
01:22team as favorite.
01:23Harbhajan, to you, everyone is saying that India is the clear favorite.
01:27So what should we assume?
01:28This is done and dusted?
01:29Or do you think there is an outside chance that Pakistan can upset this India?
01:33Well, the only way Pakistan can upset India is obviously, you know, if India is, you know,
01:40three down in first three, four overs, you know, that is the only way I see they can
01:44have some edge on the game.
01:46But I still feel that India have a lot of depth in their batting lineup.
01:50They can still recover from that phase and put up a good score on the board.
01:56But it'll be a big challenge for Pakistan to beat India.
01:59But it's a funny game.
02:01Anything can happen.
02:02I don't want to be, you know, taking things for granted.
02:05If I was a player, you know, that we have a better side.
02:08As a player, I would think that, you know, this is an important game.
02:12There will be pressure because the stadium will be packed.
02:14Expectations are very high.
02:17I think India have got more on stake rather than Pakistan.
02:20See, they, you know, that now they have started off with it.
02:24They have got nothing to lose, you know, but India have got everything to save.
02:28So whereas pressure will be there on both the team.
02:32But I think India will be playing their A game and will manage to get a win.
02:38That's interesting.
02:39You say that India have more to lose because there is also this, you know, common thought
02:43at the moment that Pakistan probably it's a do or die game for them.
02:47So they have more to lose.
02:48And India have won the game.
02:49But do you see it differently?
02:51Well, if Pakistan, they don't win, they're out of this competition, right?
02:56More likely they'll be out.
02:58So yes, they have in that term, you know, they have a lot on stake.
03:03But in terms of, you know, how India take their defeat against Pakistan, that's a different
03:08ball game I'm talking about.
03:10Everyone gets angry back home.
03:12But yeah, it's going to be a great game.
03:15You know, pressure will be there.
03:17And I think India is fully ready for this competition.
03:21And the stadium will be equally divided with the fans as well.
03:25Maybe 70% India, 30% Pakistani crowd, but it will be a great game for the spectator.
03:33But how I see this game, India have this edge.
03:37India have the edge in this game.
03:39And I'm sure if the bat first or ball first, it will not make a difference.
03:45I would ideally want India to bat first, if they get a chance and get some runs on
03:50the board like 280-300, that'll be a difficulty, kind of a target for Pakistanis to chase.
03:56We looked at the factors that make India the favourite, you also listed some of those.
04:01But if I was to look at from Pakistan's point of view, do you think Dubai probably, and
04:05the pitch that we get in Dubai is the best chance for Pakistan to upset India?
04:09Because many believe if you are playing on a good batting track, like you get in Pakistan,
04:13India were clear-cut favourites.
04:15But now that it's a tricky pitch, it gives Pakistan an outside chance.
04:19See Pakistan can, the only way I see Pakistan doing well is taking three, four early wickets.
04:25And also somebody need to play a brilliant inning.
04:28You know, at the moment, none of their batting lineups from their batting lineup is looking,
04:35you know, a solid, solid player because Rizwan got runs recently, one of the other guy got
04:42runs recently.
04:43Salman.
04:44Salman Agha.
04:45Agha got runs.
04:46But conditions will be different here.
04:48And Pakistanis, they don't really have spin in their bowling unit.
04:52So I feel, you know, India have the edge, but you know, I do believe that, you know,
05:00they will not take those three wickets up front and they will not score big runs, Rizwan
05:04will not fire.
05:05Babar, I'm not too worried about, you know, Babar, the kind of inning he played, you know,
05:10even if he bat for like 20-30 overs, we know that he's going to get 60, maybe 60 or 70.
05:18He's not going to play a runner ball kind of inning, he's going to be a slow sluggish
05:23kind of inning.
05:24Fakhar Zaman was a big threat, he's out of the competition.
05:26So the only way I see is, you know, as I mentioned that India not to lose three, four wickets
05:32up front, you know, just to give them some sort of edge or that smell of, you know, success.
05:39Okay, interesting that you mentioned, Pakistan haven't got much of a spin attack, they've
05:43only come with one spinner in Abrar, India have four spinners.
05:47One team has made a blunder, which is that team?
05:51By looking at the condition, I think certainly Pakistan have made that blunder.
05:55These conditions since I was here, Nikhil, last whole month I've done some broadcasting
06:00work here.
06:01I've seen good spinners like Hasranga, Rashid, they have picked wicket in every game here,
06:07in T20 format.
06:09In 50-over format, you know, obviously, these guys will have more overs and they will be
06:15more successful.
06:16There will be spin, there will be a pitch which will obviously play slower and slower
06:23as the game will progress.
06:25So good spinner will always be in the game.
06:27I am not saying that India should play with four spinners, because Pakistan can play spin
06:33bowling.
06:35But I would like to see, if at all, one change, I don't think that's going to happen.
06:38I would like to see Varun Chakraborty playing this game instead of, you know, either you
06:43leave Akshar or Jadeja out.
06:44I know it's a big call, big task, but that's not going to happen.
06:49But you know, as a player, as someone who's a well-wisher of Indian cricket, I would want
06:55to see that Varun Chakraborty's form getting back into the fold and taking those wickets.
07:02Oh, that's interesting that you mentioned play Varun Chakraborty.
07:05We had Mr. Gavaskar join us yesterday for the analysis of India-Pakistan.
07:09He had a left field, very out of the box, I guess.
07:13He said play four spinners, get Harshit Rana out, Hardik and Shami, your two fast bowlers,
07:19play four spinners.
07:20What do you make of that?
07:21Well, I don't think that's going to happen.
07:22This pitch is obviously, it's a slower pitch, but it's not spinning like those turners we
07:28see back home in India, you know, in some of the test match.
07:32Four spinners will be a bit too much, you know, obviously, if we were playing this game
07:36against Australia or maybe some other team, they don't play.
07:40England.
07:41Yeah, England.
07:42They were struggling.
07:43Yeah.
07:44So maybe four spinners against those teams would work, but not against Pakistan.
07:47So stick to three, and three out of three, you know, two of them, they're all-rounders.
07:52But they're still, you know.
07:53But you have gone with one all-rounder.
07:56You want both Kuldeep and Varun to play.
07:57Yes, I would want to see Varun and Kuldeep and Akshar and Jadeja, whatever, whoever you
08:02want to pick.
08:03You can do a con-toss.
08:04Both of them are outstanding.
08:06One better with the ball, the other good with the bat as well.
08:09What do you make of the batting approach?
08:11What it should be?
08:12Because, was it Bangladesh who won that game?
08:14But there was a bit of a hiccup, Rohit started off well, but once he got out, you had a bit
08:17of a collapse.
08:18Can India learn a thing or two from that Bangladesh game for the Pakistan game?
08:22I think the learning would be, you know, as we have seen this game, you know, first 10
08:28to 15 overs are the, you know, best over to score runs quickly.
08:33So Rohit and Shubman, they both have done a great job by setting the platform right,
08:37you know, scoring quickly in first 10 to 15 overs.
08:40As the ball gets softer, as the ball gets a little older, it's obviously going to be
08:45not as easy as it was in the first 10 or 15 overs when the circle was still on.
08:52So once the circle will spread, the ball will get a little old, it will be hard for
08:58batsmen to score runs in boundary, you have to play a lot of singles and doubles.
09:02And that is the only, you know, learning I think India will take forward from there.
09:07You know, good thing is Shubman got runs 100, he's got big 100, you know, someone who batted
09:12for a longer period of time and then KL looked really good, you know, in the end.
09:17Apart from these two, I think Rohit played, you know, a very crucial part, you know.
09:24So the important is to make it count the new ball, whether with the bat, whether with the
09:28ball, you know, I think India won that game because they were very good in both the departments,
09:35you know, they bowled well with the new ball and they batted well against the new ball.
09:40Final question before we let you go, Arbhajan.
09:42One thing that we know with Pakistan teams, you push them to a wall and that's when they
09:46come out with their best performance.
09:48Is this Pakistan team also capable of doing that?
09:51Should we be worried about their mercurial nature?
09:54Well, India should not be worried about, you know, how Pakistan are going to approach this
09:59game.
10:00India should approach this game as, you know, how they want to approach this game.
10:05You take it like in another game and do those small things right.
10:10If they are able to do those small things right by putting small, small partnership
10:15when they are batting and of course, when they are bowling, taking those, you know,
10:20wickets at important time, you know, I think India will be good.
10:25So India should not be worried about what Pakistan will bring on the table.
10:30They will see this condition, the condition and they'll go accordingly.
10:34I think India is overall a better team and I hope India remains an unbeaten team in this
10:41competition.
10:42Oh, I forgot to tell you, we went for the India practice session and the team was supposed
10:46to practice at 2pm local time and one man reached at 1pm and he was Virat Kohli.
10:52He came an hour before.
10:53See, I told you before.
10:55And he spent one hour and then he continued the full practice session.
10:57Okay, I'm going to make a big prediction here.
11:01How about Virat Kohli getting a 100 tomorrow?
11:03Versus Pakistan.
11:04Yeah.
11:05So, no matter how his last four months have gone, you know, people will obviously remember
11:11if he goes on to get a 100 tomorrow.
11:13So come on, Chiku, the whole nation is behind you.
11:16I am hoping that you get a 100 and I'm going to do a Bhangra with you after the game.
11:22Now for the, of course, for Virat Kohli's 100, but also for India's Bhangra.
11:28We just hope, fingers crossed, Virat Kohli gets that 100.
11:30He was hard at practice today, spent an extra hour practicing, tells you how important it is.
11:35Yeah, good to see, good to see, you know, that means he cares, he understands that,
11:39you know, his role.
11:41People are looking forward to see Virat Kohli bat and score runs and the team needs him
11:45more than anybody else.
11:47And of course, Virat Kohli, you know, when he comes good, when the competition becomes
11:52harder, you know, players like him always come in the party and this is the right time
11:57for him to hit the form and good to see him back in the nets early and practicing harder
12:02than the others who practice harder than the others, they tend to get the right results
12:07as well.
12:08So, good luck.
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