Ahead of class, Pak starts war of words

There are still three days to go before defending champions India lock horns with archrivals Pakistan to start their campaign in the Champions Trophy, but the mind games have begun. Leading the pack for Pakistan this time is pacer Junaid Khan who said his side had an advantage over India, besides adding that skipper Virat Kohli will face some torrid time against him. “I have dismissed him in three out of the four matches we have faced each other. He is a brilliant batsman but he has failed against me,” Khan told media in England. The two have met in four matches with the swashbuckling right-hander falling to him thrice in four matches. He also has scored just two runs in 22 balls against the speedstar.

India-Pakistan matches are always nail-biting affairs and since the two no longer play bilateral series, ICC events are the only tournaments where the two face each other these days. The last time the two countries played against each other was back during the 2012-13 season when Pakistan toured India for two T20Is and three ODIs. They’re yet to play a Test match since 2007.

At his pre-tour press conference in Mumbai earlier this week, Kohli had, however, downplayed the rivalry. “India, Pakistan game is always exciting but for us it is a game of cricket. The hype around India-Pakistan game not always in our control,” he had said.

Unlike the World Cup and WorldT20I, where Pakistan are yet to win a match against India, they hold a better record against India in the Champions Trophy. In three meetings so far, Pakistan have won two while losing one game. “We have a better record against India in the Champions Trophy, not in other competitions. We are looking to maintain that against them and it’s very exciting,” Pakistan captain Sarfraz Khan had said during his pre-tour conference.