With the downfall of Pakistan in terms of playing cricket within the sub continent where countries like Afghanistan and Nepal are punching above their weights in the Asian cricketing circuits, Former left hander batter now turned commentator and cricket expert Gautam Gambhir feels that the age old India-Pakistan rivalry on cricket field is now a myth. Gautam Gambhir is quite furious in his statements and is never afraid of throwing a challenge to the opposition teams.
During the olden days of cricketing history, India and Pakistan has been witnessing some interesting battles on the cricket field post Independence and the rivalry between the two had smitten the eyes of cricket lovers and experts from the world around. Both teams in the past has produced great Cricketing legends in the likes of Zaheer Abbas, Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Anil Kumble etc. and many more to the fore.
However due to the political tensions between two countries, lack of bilateral series between the two arch rivals has resulted a drop in popularity of the cricket rivalry especially with the dismal performances of the Pakistan cricket team in the past few years. The rivalry now seems lopsided wit Indian Team through its better techniques and management skills has supremacy in all formats of the game than Pakistan.
Former left hander batter now turned commentator and cricket expert Gautam Gambhir also feels that the new rivalry now brewing the cricketing circuit is now the Indian Australian rivalry as India when playing with Australia remains the only Asian team who has the caliber to win and give a tough fight to ever rising Australians
Pakistan has dominated India a lot of times but….- Gautam Gambhir
Former left hander batter now turned commentator and cricket expert Gautam Gambhir believes the India-Pakistan rivalry is not as fierce anymore, given the Men in Blue’s superiority over their neighbors across formats. Gambhir believes that the rivalry between India and Australia has been more competitive in recent years.
Due to the political tensions between India and Pakistan, they haven’t played any bilateral series since 2012-13. Their encounters have been limited to ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup, which have mostly been lopsided affairs.
In contrast, Australia and the sub-continent giants have traded a handful of blows in recent years.
Speaking on a show on Hotstar, Gambhir underlined that Pakistan beating the Men in Blue in the current era constitutes a massive upset. He said:
“Pakistan has dominated India a lot of times. Currently, if you see the level of both teams, India is far superior to Pakistan in all three formats. If Pakistan defeats India it’s an upset, if India defeats Pakistan, it’s very much given. India and Australia, from a cricketing point of view, is a top rivalry. If you ask a cricket fan what is the actual rivalry, they will also say India and Australia,”
Pakistan’s most recent defeat came to India during the 2023 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Batting first, they collapsed from 155-2 after 29.3 overs to 191/10 in 42.5 overs. India completed the chase comfortably with seven wickets in hand.
Australia beat India in 2 ICC finals in 2023
According to the performances, Australia showcased their supremacy over India during the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final in England and the 2023 World Cup decider in Ahmedabad. Travis Head dominated them in the WTC final at The Oval with a first-innings knock of 163, while Scott Boland was one of the chief destroyers with the ball, sealing a 209-run victory for the Aussies.
Travis Head also stepped up during the 2023 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium with a swashbuckling 137 off 120 deliveries. Australia delivered a disciplined bowling performance to restrict the home side to 240, with the left-hander cracking a century to propel the tourists to a six-wicket win.
With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in June 2024 and India – Australia series down under in latter half of the year it is indeed a mouth watering clash of the Titans for cricket fans and lovers to watch the rivalry between two cricketing giants from different continents pursuing different styles of play.