On the eve of the India vs. Pakistan match, the focus remains on the two best batters of their respective teams, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. Both haven’t started their ICC Champions Trophy campaign on a positive note. Babar’s knock was hailed as one of the worst ODI knocks in a chase, while Kohli’s sluggish knock on a tough pitch was criticised as well.
Axar Patel & Ravindra Jadeja coming for Babar Azam
Both are among some of the greatest ODI batters and are expected to bounce back. For both of their team’s sake, that should happen in the India vs Pakistan match. But it won’t be that easy. Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has highlighted areas of weakness in both Babar and Kohli’s games.
“India have better spinners, and Babar Azam struggles against left-arm spinners. How will he tackle Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel?” Kaneria told IANS.
What the former leg-spinner said is true. Babar has struggled big-time against left-arm orthodox spin for the last couple of years. The sample size in ODIs is small, but across formats, you can see the issue. Team India has two tweakers of the same mould. Not to forget, it was New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner who got him out in the last game.
Babar Azam vs left-arm orthodox spin since 2023 (all formats)
| Innings | Runs | Balls | Outs | Average | Dot % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 99 | 218 | 6 | 16.5 | 75.7 |
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Abrar Ahmad threat for Virat Kohli
For Kohli, Kaneria highlighted his weakness against leg-spin. This has been known for some time now. He was troubled by Jeffrey Vandersay in Sri Lanka last year on slow pitches, and it was Bangladesh’s Rishad Hossain who got him in India’s Champions Trophy opener.
“On the other hand, Pakistan don’t have a good spinner, and we’ve seen Virat Kohli and other Indian batters struggle against leg spin,” Kaneria added.
Pakistan does have Abrar Ahmad, and that match-up would be interesting to watch. The ball turning away from Kohli has troubled him, and on a slow and turning Dubai pitch, that might continue to happen.
Virat Kohli vs leg spin since 2022 (ODIs)
| Innings | Runs | Balls | Outs | Average | Strike Rate | Dot % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 241 | 330 | 10 | 16.5 | 73 | 46.7 |
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