India vs Pakistan: Key player battles that will decide T20 World Cup contest, ft. Jasprit Bumrah vs Sahibzada Farhan

The key tactical and mental battles that will decide who wins India vs Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

India have dominated Pakistan across the 20-over and 50-over format when the teams have met in ICC competitions recently. Pakistan have to go all the way back to the 2021 T20 World Cup for the last time they had the advantage in an ICC event, and to the 2022 Asia Cup for the last time Pakistan won before India’s ongoing five-match winning streak in the format.

Jasprit Bumrah and Sahibzada Farhan went head-to-head in the Asia Cup, and will rekindle their rivalry in the T20 World Cup. (AFP)

Pakistan will be keen to end that run and send a loud message to India in a tournament the latter are hosting – but that will mean Pakistan need to win their key battles through the course of the day, and ensure all of that adds up to have an influence over the result.

Jasprit Bumrah vs Sahibzada Farhan

From a tactical perspective, openers vs new ball bowlers will always be significant – the need to prevent early wickets, make use of the powerplay, and set the tone. Here, recent history makes setting the tone even more of a psychological thing.

Farhan took down Jasprit Bumrah in the Asia Cup final last year, but not to much effect as he was later dismissed and India won the title – but beating Bumrah became such a big deal for the Pakistan batter that a subsequent spot feature became subject to great mockery.

The winner of this battle will establish a key mental edge to go with the purely tactical one.

Suryakumar Yadav vs Usman Tariq

Unorthodoxy faces unorthodoxy. Usman Tariq’s action has been under the microscope since Cameron Green seemed to allude to its hazy legality: a strange, side-arm delivery motion in which Tariq often pauses midway, it has proven to be an effective weapon.

But India trust their captain to use the tricks up his own sleeves, in particular to counter-attack against spin. India’s middle order has been shaky and a little raw to start the tournament, and Tariq could be a challenge for a batting unit that likes to pack a punch – but SKY’s ability to play every shot in the book could be the solution.

Ishan Kishan/Abhishek Sharma vs Shaheen Afridi

India have proven that the most straightforward way for the team to beat their opponents is simply by overwhelming them with runs and power at the outset of the innings. Even in Abhishek Sharma’s absence, Ishan Kishan was able to take over the reins – and any team who wishes to cause an upset against India needs to figure out how to take wickets and restrict runs early on.

Shaheen Afridi hasn’t been the searing new-ball swing specialist of years past, not as threatening and often very expensive. If Pakistan are too have any chance, they will need him to produce some of his best work in years, and find a wicket if not two in his opening burst in Colombo.

Varun Chakravarthy vs Babar Azam

Varun Chakravarthy has looked in ridiculous form to start the tournament off, but Pakistan pose a first truly big challenge. The match will take place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, which has proven slow, grippy, and hard to score on – conditions Varun will enjoy.

Pakistan have been using Babar Azam in the middle order, but with his tendency to slow down and get stuck in a trap where his strike-rates are low and he eats up balls in the innings, he might be the ideal player for Varun Chakravarthy to target for four miserly, threatening overs.

Varun should be more than a handful on the Premadasa surface, but if Pakistan mismanage their gameplan against him, he could almost singlehandedly put them in a horrible position and swing the match in India’s favour. Players like Babar will need a proactive, front-foot-forward gameplan to tackle him.