Colombo Advantage Pakistan’s Best Chance of Reviving India Rivalry

 

India and Pakistan are scheduled to play on 15 February in Colombo. (PC: ACC)

During the 2025 Champions Trophy, much was said about India having an unfair advantage by way of playing all their matches in Dubai because of the agreed hybrid model. It is now the same for Pakistan in Colombo. Pakistan have been here for two weeks and have become accustomed to the conditions. They have played at the SSC and trained at the Premadasa. Even last night, Pakistan trained between 6 and 9 pm in what was a strong practice session.

India, on the other hand, arrived last night after 9 pm and will train this evening. All India will get is one intense training session before the game on Sunday. In every sense, then, it is Pakistan who have the advantage. They are effectively the home team here rather than India, and it is their game to lose given their prior knowledge of the conditions. This is Pakistan’s best chance of causing an upset. If they fail here, there is every reason to believe Suryakumar Yadav’s words that this isn’t a rivalry any more.

Pakistan practice at Premadasa Stadium, ahead of their clash against India (Photo: Subhayan Chakraborty)

In fact, if there was ever a game where Pakistan had all the advantage going in, it is this one. India have a number of fitness concerns and travelled four hours from Delhi only a day earlier. Abhishek Sharma is uncertain and, if Surya’s words are any indication, the chances of him missing the Pakistan game are real. Washington Sundar too has not played a competitive game for a while, while Jasprit Bumrah is only just back from a viral fever. India, the best team in the world, look a little underdone going into this contest.

None of what I have said is an excuse and should not be treated as such. Despite all these issues, India still go into the match as favourites and a Pakistan win would be an upset. That is how good the Indians are, and that is how this contest has shaped up over a period of time.

Coming to the game itself, two things, for me, will decide the outcome. First, how does Babar Azam bat? Will he continue to play at a run a ball for the first 20 deliveries and only then try to accelerate? If that happens, India will not mind it, and Babar could well become the weak link in Pakistan’s batting line-up.

Second, how will the Indian spinners – Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel and, if he plays ahead of a fast bowler, Kuldeep Yadav – bowl on Sunday? The wicket has shown signs of becoming a tad slower as the game progresses, and the question is whether that is temptation enough to play Kuldeep. As Michael Clarke often says, Kuldeep is a match-winner and he had done extremely well against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.

Finally, there is a chance of rain on Sunday and, while it is unlikely that the game will be washed out, interruptions could be a cause for concern. How the two sides strategise for rain will be interesting.

To go back to where I started – this is Pakistan’s best opportunity. If they fluff this one, there is no rivalry. Forty-eight hours to go until the mega spectacle in Colombo.

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