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Business News/ Industry / Why does India keep beating Pakistan in the World Cup?
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Why does India keep beating Pakistan in the World Cup?

The answer lies in Indian bowlers keeping their nerve

The Indian batsmen scored at a strike rate of 97.6 runs per 100 balls while bowlers conceded 1.2 fewer runs per over than the Pakistani attack. Photo: AFP Premium
The Indian batsmen scored at a strike rate of 97.6 runs per 100 balls while bowlers conceded 1.2 fewer runs per over than the Pakistani attack. Photo: AFP

The India-Pakistan match on Sunday was a little bit of a damp squib with the Indian team comprehensively out-batting and out-bowling the Pakistanis. In fact, it was India’s best performance against Pakistan in the World Cup. The Indian batsmen scored at a strike rate of 97.6 runs per 100 balls while bowlers conceded 1.2 fewer runs per over than the Pakistani attack.

The common perception is that India-Pakistan matches bring out the best in both squads but the data suggests this isn’t always the case. With these matches, especially in events such as the World Cup, being high-tension, high–excitement affairs, the difference between the two teams is most often the bowlers and their ability to hold their nerve.

In the five World Cups that the two teams have played each other (not counting the ongoing series) India has batted better against Pakistan than against other teams in the tournament only twice—1996 and 2003. Similarly, Pakistan has batted better against India than other teams in only those two World Cups.

This analysis cannot be done for the ongoing World Cup since India and Pakistan have played no other teams other than each other as yet. However, a similar analysis was carried out using India’s performance against Australia and England in the recent ODI series prior to the World Cup. Here, too, the data shows that India bowled and batted better against Pakistan than against the other teams.

What the overall analysis suggests is that the Indian bowlers are able to hold their nerve and even bowl better in high-pressure India-Pakistan matches, a case in point being the 2011 World Cup semi-final where India conceded only 4.7 runs per over against Pakistan, compared to an average of 5.5 runs in all the other matches it played in the tournament. Pakistani bowlers, on the other hand, though considered more skilful than their Indian counterparts, don’t seem to similarly excel under the crushing pressure of playing against India.

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Published: 16 Feb 2015, 02:44 PM IST
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