Teams will have to bat really well against India to put them under any pressure, says Sourav Ganguly

Teams will have to bat really well against India to put them under any pressure, says Sourav Ganguly

SportsCafe Desk

By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Sourav Ganguly has claimed that if the likes of Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh want to defeat India in the ongoing Asia Cup they will have to bat at their very best to pressurise the strong Indian squad. Ganguly also spoke about how India-Pakistan games have been over hyped in recent times.

Team India have impressed everyone in their Asia Cup under stand-in skipper, Rohit Sharma and the rest of the Indian management. Despite a lacklustre outing in the first game against Hong Kong, Sharma & Co. turned in some brilliant performances in the subsequent wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh.

And former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was quick to suggest that if the likes of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh sought to defeat the Indians, they will have to bat like never before. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu have impressed thus far with the middle-order having barely added to the scoreboard.

"Rohit has not only been exceptional with the bat but his captaincy has stood out. He was shaken a bit by Hong Kong, but since then he and his team have lifted themselves," he said before his closing comment on India's all-round show so far. Dhawan has always been brilliant in this format and he continues to do so. His partnership with Rohit has not allowed the batting to come under any pressure.

"The bowling has been outstanding. Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah are assets to this team in any format, which just goes to show that despite all the debate about the red and white ball, quality prevails. So teams will have to bat really well against India to put them under any pressure," Ganguly said in an interview to TOI.

The former batsman also felt India's superiority in all departments makes them the favourites ahead of the game between India and Pakistan on Sunday. Ganguly insisted that India will have the ‘psychological edge’ over their arch-rivals.

"India-Pakistan games come with lot of hype, but over the last 8-9 years that hype has not matched reality. The Pakistan of old and Pakistan now are a lot different and India continue to be stronger in all aspects.

"Everybody keeps talking about the Champions Trophy last year when Pakistan’s performance got better as the tournament progressed. Their victory against England and then against India in the final will be the only point of thought for India to carry. Pakistan need to be more organised in a big game and their shot-selection in the last match was really poor for a high-pressure game," Ganguly added.

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