Published: Feb 10, 2015, 05:33 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 10, 2015, 05:33 PM (IST)
Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels positive on India’s chances of winning against Pakistan in the high-voltage ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 encounter on February 15 in Adelaide, as he finds his team superior than Pakistan. Irfan, who was part of the forgettable 2007 World Cup team under Rahul Dravid says it is all about handling the pressure in the 50-over format.
“There is lot of pressure involved in a World Cup. Because everyone is watching you, everyone’s talking about a World Cup, everyone wants the Cup back. And obviously people will talk about it because it comes every four years. So the pressure mounts four times. When I was in West Indies, we thought we had prepared well but unfortunate that things didn’t turn out the way we would have wanted to. So the pressure is always there and you have to handle it as much as you can,” he said to Press Trust of India.
The left-arm pacer was an integral part in India’s inaugural World T20 triumph in 2007 and recalls the memorable clashes with rivals Pakistan.
“India-Pakistan game is always very special and is a pressure game. And if you playing in a World Cup then the pressure doubles. I recall one such pressure situation in the inaugural World T20 in South Africa when the India-Pak game was tied. We tried not to take pressure on ourselves in that situation. (MS) Dhoni was a new captain, the whole scenario was so new”, he said.
“We hardly had a meeting for five minutes before the Pakistan game. We tried to stay relaxed and just enjoy the game. We played well without taking any pressure, but in the final the pressure automatically mounted. The final, if you remember, swung in favour of both the teams equally until Misbah (ul-Haq) played that stroke. I enjoyed my outing as well, picking up (Shahid) Afridi in one of my three wickets,” added the all-rounder who has a hat-trick in his name against Pakistan.
Having played with Sachin Tendulkar in his era, Irfan said the Master Blaster will be always missed whenever an Indian side takes field.
“Sachin is going to be missed as long as we play cricket. He is that kind of cricketer and I am sure it will be the same in the World Cup. Since 1992 he hasn’t missed a World Cup and is the highest run-scorer in World Cup history,” he quipped.
