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Cricket Players'India vs Australia is a better game than India vs Pakistan...': Ganguly's colossal 'quality' remark ahead of 2023 WC
Former India captain Ganguly explained why he believes India's clash against Australia offers more ‘quality’ than the one against arch-rivals Pakistan.
The schedule for the 2023 World Cup was announced earlier this week with India opening their campaign against Australia on October 8. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will be aiming to end over a ten-year ICC trophy drought at the home World Cup; this is the first time when India will host the entire tournament. The side had last lifted an ICC title in 2013 when a Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team won the Champions Trophy; incidentally, it was under Dhoni's leadership that India won their last World Cup as well (in 2011).
The side will face Pakistan in the blockbuster clash on October 15 at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Justifiably, the match between the arch-rivals is touted to be among the most hyped-up games in the tournament but former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes that the clash between both sides hasn't generated much quality over the past few years.
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Ganguly believes that India had been winning “one-sided” matches against Pakistan over the past few years.
“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,” Ganguly told Star Sports, as quoted by Sportskeeda.
Incidentally, in the last encounter between both teams (at the T20 World Cup 2022), the match had gone to the last ball of the game with India clinching a thrilling four-wicket win in Melbourne. In 2021, Pakistan had beaten India by 10 wickets in the same tournament; stressing further on the same, Ganguly believes India's clash with Australia produces better quality of cricket.
“India did not play well in that tournament (2021 T20 WC) but according to me, India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup because the quality is better,” said the former BCCI President.
