Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly reckons that the contest against Australia will be bigger than the one against Pakistan in the upcoming 2023 World Cup. However, the former BCCI President acknowledged Pakistan's seam attack's ability to exploit the flat conditions in India and predicted it to be a high-voltage contest in Ahmedabad.
India and Pakistan will face one another in 50-over World Cups for the eighth time, with the contest booked for the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Men in Blue are unbeaten in seven World Cup games since 1992 and most recently beat them convincingly in 2019.
Ganguly stated that while the hype about India-Pakistan games continue to be there, the results have been a lot one-sided.
"There is a lot of hype in this match but the quality has not been that good for a long time because India kept on winning one-sided. Pakistan probably defeated India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in Dubai. India did not play well in that tournament but according to me, India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup because the quality is better," the 50-year-old said in a discussion with Star Sports.
"Pakistan becomes a good team on flat wickets" - Sourav Ganguly
Ganguly added that Pakistan's fast bowlers can bowl well even on flat wickets; hence, the Indian batters must be wary of the same.
"This Pakistan team is also good and the match will be good. Pakistan becomes a good team on flat wickets because their batters use those conditions well. They have fast bowlers who use the conditions. Wherever there is seam or swing, because their quality of batting has been good in the past, I can't say what will happen going forward, India always used to march ahead. It will always be a big game. The conditions will also be important."
India will open their 2023 World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8th in Chennai.
