Rizwan believes nerves will decide India-Pakistan clash

Mohammad Rizwan, the Pakistan wicket-keeper, believes that the match between India and Pakistan will be decided by fine margins. The two eternal rivals will lock horns in the highly anticipated Asia Cup fixture on 2 September.

What did Rizwan say?

The Pakistan batter provided some thoughtful insights from his perspective on the upcoming India-Pakistan game. The right-hand batter believes that both India and Pakistan are strong and evenly matched sides with not much to separate them.

Rizwan claimed that the result will ultimately come down to which team handles the occasion better and is able to execute their skills under pressure on that particular day. He believes that dealing with spotlights is what differentiates a good and a great player.

“In the world of cricket, both India and Pakistan are strong contenders. Each team has its strengths and weaknesses. What will matter most in a high-pressure match like this is how well a player can handle the stress and deliver under the spotlight. Experience often makes the difference between a star player and a regular one, and the one who thrives under pressure will likely be the one to secure the win,” Rizwan said in a recently published Star Sports video clip.

India vs Pakistan state of play leading to the Asia Cup

Rizwan’s comments are coming on the back of a convincing 3-0 series win against Afghanistan, which will certainly boost their confidence. Pakistan have also recently ascended to the no.1 spot in the ICC ODI rankings, giving them a psychological boost ahead of the Asia Cup.

Team India on the other hand took a different route as they tried and tested quite a few combinations against West Indies and Ireland, although most of those games were in the T20I format. India also played most of their cricket leading into the Tournament away from home.

Pakistan have gone with some interesting choices in their squads as players like Faheem Ashraf and Usama Mir will give them a certain amount of unpredictability. Pakistani pacers are in fine form and they have a settled batting line-up, which is a historic rarity. 

Shreyas Iyer’s timely return from injury will certainly ease concerns over the no.4 spot, which has been India’s biggest dilemma along with the wicketkeeper-batsman combination. Other than that India look a formidable side with some new talents vying for spots. 

KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer returns the big news in India's Asia Cup squad 👌

Details 👉 https://t.co/0NC4uhy2Xt pic.twitter.com/8WJxmsj0h7

— ICC (@ICC) August 21, 2023

India vs Pakistan recent results

India has the edge over Pakistan both in the Asia Cup stage and their most recent ODI face-off. The men in blue defeated their eternal rivals in the last edition of the tournament by 5 wickets and their last ODI game saw team India claim a 89 run win in the World Cup.

However, the last Asia Cup was in T20I format and recent history has rarely mattered in this high voltage clash. It is, as Rizwan said, all about delivering under-pressure on the match-day.