He's playing mind games: Ex-Pak batter on Sourav Ganguly's 'IND-PAK matches are one-sided' remark

India and Pakistan are set to lock horns in the forthcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 edition, later this year in October-November. So far, India have been unbeaten versus their arch-rivals in the 50-over mega event. They enjoy a 7-0 winning streak over the Men in Green and Rohit Sharma & Co. will be eager to keep their record intact as the two teams will meet at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad on October on October 15.

Ahead of the marquee clash, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly opined on the India-Pakistan games and made a big statement. Speaking to on Star Sports, Ganguly said, "There is a lot of hype in this match but the quality has not been that good for a long time because India kept on winning one-sided. Pakistan probably defeated India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in Dubai."

Ganguly's remark made heads turn but he probably was talking about the Indo-Pak World Cup clashes. In both ODI and T20 WCs, India have been at their dominant best versus Pakistan. They lead Pakistan 7-0 in ODI WC and have a 6-1 lead in T20 WC history. However, Pakistan have made amends in the previous few face-offs. They beat India by 180 runs in the 2017 Champions Trophy final and thrashed them by ten wickets in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Moreover, the two sides met in last year's Asia Cup where both won a game each. The two encounters saw a last-over finish.

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In addition, India and Pakistan played a humdinger in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia where Virat Kohli's masterclass led to Men in Blue's thrilling win. Thus, former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has now reacted to Ganguly's remark.

'Ganguly is trying to play mind games'

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit said, "I don't agree with him saying that India vs Pakistan matches are one-sided in favour of India. No doubt you have beaten us a lot in ICC World Cups before but that hasn't been the case since 2017. We beat India at the T20 World Cup in UAE and last year in the Asia Cup, won one, lost one. Yes, India defeated Pakistan at the T20 World Cup in Australia but that was purely because of Virat Kohli. He won it single-handedly. Clearly the best-ever T20 innings."

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Further, Basit also responded to Ganguly claiming that India versus Australia games have better quality. Ganguly had stated, "India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup because the quality is better'. To this, the former Pakistani cricketer said, "He also said that India vs Australia is a bigger crowd puller than India vs Pakistan. To that, I would just want to say that 'Brother, when India plays Australia, are roads in your country empty? No. They are empty whenever there's an India-Pakistan match - both in India and in Pakistan. Everyone is glued to their TV screen and are praying. Look at the ticket prices for the World Cup; India-Australia costs are nowhere close to India-Pakistan's. So I feel that Ganguly - DADA ji - is just trying to play mind games."

It will be interesting to see what happens when the two sides meet in this year's ODI WC in India. Before they, they will also meet in the Asia Cup (possibly on three occasions). Overall, the arch-rivals have a chance to lock horns on five instances this year. Thus, some blockbuster games are on the cards.

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