Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly reckons Pakistan is no match for the potent Indian team, and the massive difference between the two teams is palpable. India registered a thumping seven-wicket win against the arch-rivals at Dubai in the ongoing Asia Cup on Sunday.
Pakistan posted a below-par score of 127-9 after electing to bat first as they could not get any kind of momentum in their batting. The Men in Green looked at sea while facing the Indian spinners, as the spin trio of Kuldeep, Axar and Varun bagged a total of six wickets.
In the run-chase, India won with 25 balls to spare as Suryakumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma scored 47 and 31 runs respectively. Furthermore, Tilak Varma scored a run-a-ball 31 and added 56 runs with SKY.
“Pakistan are no match. I say that with respect, it’s just because I’ve seen how their team was. It’s the lack of quality in the side,” Ganguly said on PTI.
“India are too far ahead in cricket for Pakistan and any of these Asia Cup teams. There will be one or two days when they get beaten, but the majority of days they (India) would be the best team,” he added.
The former skipper also admitted he was not surprised by the one-sided contest between the two teams. Ganguly said he was watching the Manchester derby in the Premier League on Sunday after the first 15 overs of Pakistan’s innings.
“I am actually not surprised by what I saw. I actually stopped watching after the first 15 overs and started watching Manchester United and Man City (in the English Premier League),” he quipped.
“There is no competition between India and Pakistan anymore. I always say, we think of Pakistan as Waqar Younises, Wasim Akrams, the Saeed Anwars and Javed Miandads. But that’s not the case with this modern-day Pakistan, it’s now like chalk and cheese.”
“There is no competition. I would rather watch India play Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka or even Afghanistan. I don’t think India and Pakistan are a contest anymore. We keep hyping it, and for the last five years, every hype has been shattered. It’s been one-way traffic,” Ganguly concluded.
India will next take on Oman at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday.
