India start as the favorites – Sunil Gavaskar

As Ahmedabad prepares to welcome 1,32,000 fans in the stadium to watch India vs Pakistan, cricket's biggest rivalry unfold at the World Cup stage, cricket experts have shared their opinions on which team starts as favourites. 

Both the teams have begun the tournament on a high and will be hoping to continue almost similar form into this fixture. India swatted away Australia and Afghanistan while Pakistan got the better of Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

India’s bowling was in sensational touch against Australia but their top-order had an early wobble, only to be bailed out of the predicament by KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. Against Afghanistan, however, it was their captain, Rohit Sharma, who went on free firing mode to ravage the Afghan bowlers.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan will be the leading moniker after hammering a well-orchestrated half-century against Netherlands while stealing the show with an unbeaten century against Sri Lanka as they chased down 345.

Former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar believes that despite the victorious starts for both the sides, it is one important aspect that somewhat differentiates between the two sides. Talking to India Today, he said, “India's all round performance has been very, very good and that gives you hope against Pakistan.”

He also highlighted another reason for Pakistan to be worried, stating, “The skipper hasn't got runs which will always put pressure, particularly when you're going to play against India. He'll be conscious of the fact that he hasn't spent time out in the middle.”

Gavaskar concluded by saying, “I do believe that India start as the favorites.” However, history has shown that in high-octane games like these all that matters is how one handles the pressure and navigates the cross-currents of expectations and big names.