Scott Styris issues a warning to Indian bowlers ahead of their match against Pakistan. For the upcoming tournament, India will be without Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, while Pakistan will be without Shaheen Afridi.
The much-anticipated 15th edition of the Asia Cup is just a few days away. Teams are looking at possible matchups ahead of their first games. Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris has shared his thoughts on the high-profile match. Between India and Pakistan on August 28th, predicting that India must be wary of Pakistan’s potent lower-middle order batters.
While Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will face off in the opener on August 27th. The epic clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan the following day has been the talk of the town. India, the tournament’s seven-time winner, is one of the clear favorites this year. But will face stiff competition from Babar Azam’s Pakistan.
The much-discussed Paksitani top order, led by the invincible Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Will be a source of concern for all opponents. Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris, however, believes that the Men in Green are equally dangerous in the final stages of an innings, with some fantastic cricketers among their ranks.
“Oh, absolutely. Let’s be clear about something. You don’t play at this level if you aren’t a great player, and yes, there is some ambiguity about what grade it is. But these players are fantastic cricketers who, on their day, are all young and coming through. Some of them are a little inexperienced. “You’ve got all those variations to what their game is right now,” Scott Styris said exclusively on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP.’
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Scott Styris believes Jasprit Bumrah’s absence will be crucial in the India-Pakistan match.
The New Zealander also mentioned that the Indian team will be light on death bowling due to Jasprit Bumrah’s unfortunate injury, which could play into the hands of Pakistani batters. In the absence of Bumrah, one of the world’s best death bowlers, the pressure will be on the other Indian bowlers, who must be wary of the Pakistani batting line-up, which can bat all the way up to number eight.
“So, with India’s injuries at the top, particularly Bumrah’s reliance on the ball, you’re under a bit more pressure with other players with the ball in hand.” As a result, I’d be wary of Pakistan’s closing ability. “Especially if they can get that down to, say, number 8 in their batting order, which allows them to play with freedom all the time,” he added.
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