ICC World Cup 2023: Can Babar Azam become the first Pakistan captain to beat India?

The stage is set for yet another epic India-Pakistan showdown on Saturday when the arch-rivals clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Both teams come on the back of two wins and the team which holds its nerves will be the one smiling at the end of the day in front of a packed crowd of 120,000.

Until a month ago Pakistan looked a more settled side but after the 228 runs drubbing against India in the Asia Cup, Pakistan had fallen apart.

They have picked themselves up, though, by winning both their matches, specially the last one against Sri Lanka when they chased down 344 with ease.

But Pakistan know history is against them as they have never beaten India in an ODI World Cup.

Babar Azam has two quiet games and there cannot be a better occasion to show the world why he is the number one ODI batsman in the world by scoring big against India. Babar would be happy Abdullah Shafique, who replaced Fakhar Zaman, scored a hundred and will hope Imam ul Haq too contributes.

Mohammad Rizwan, the engine room of the team, has scored when it matters.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has not looked at his best in both the matches but he is a great bowler can can spring to life with with one good spell.

He will need big support from Harris Rauf, the hostile fast bowler who can run through a batting unit on his day.

It's the spin department which is a worry for Pakistan and Shadab Khan will have to deliver for his team.

For India, everything seems to have fallen in place so far with skipper Rohit Sharma scoring a fantastic hundred in the last game against Afghanistan.

And with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul scoring runs, India's batting looks very formidable. If Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan get runs too, India will be hard to stop.

India's bowling too has been very impressive with the return of Jasprit Bumrah who has been getting early breakthroughs.

India might be tempted to play Mohammed Shami, who plays for Gujarat Titans in the IPL, at Ahmedabad as he knows the conditions well.

Shubman Gill, who has joined the Indian camp, is still a doubtful starter. So, with both teams looking settled, who will emerge on top? History says India and current record too favours India.

The onus is on skipper Babar to lead from the front. Here is a chance for this gifted batsman to become the first Pakistan captain to record a World Cup win over India.

It's quite amazing when you see the names of past Pakistan captains — Imran Khan (1992), Aamer Sohail (1996), Wasim Akram (1999), Waqar Younis (2003), Shahid Afridi (2011), Misbah ul Haq (2015) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (2019) — that have failed to tame India in the World Cup.

So can Babar make history on Saturday?

We have to wait and watch.

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