India vs Pakistan: Who among Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali pose the biggest threat to Rohit and Co.

Both India and Pakistan have enjoyed two comprehensive wins in the 2023 World Cup but their biggest test thus far comes on Friday when they face each other. The match will be held at the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and while India are looking to extend their 100 per cent record against their arch-rivals in ODI World Cup games, Pakistan are hoping their star players would extend their run of form and break the drought.

They would also be hoping, more than anything else, that their pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi would rediscover his mojo in this match. In the two games that they have played thus far, Pakistan's bowling in general and Afridi in particular haven't exactly lived up to their reputation. The Netherlands, the only associate nation in this tournament, managed to score 205 runs against them and cause a brief scare. Then two Sri Lankans scored centuries against them in the same match and the opposition ended up scoring a mammoth 344/9. The fact that Pakistan managed to chase this down despite Babar Azam scoring just 10 runs shows just how dangerous their batting lineup. However, the same can be said about India, who beat Australia and Afghanistan largely thanks to the form their top five is in and so, Pakistan would be hoping that their lead pacers can take out the Indian batters early.

Afridi's false start

Pakistan have played both their matches in Hyderabad and Afridi recorded figures of 1/37 in the first and 1/66 in the second. Despite this, India would still be seeing him as the biggest threat. Memories of him sending Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul packing in the 2021 T20 World Cup, in which Pakistan routed India by 10 wickets, would still be fresh in the minds of the Indian team management. India's batters may be in good form but the fact remains that no matter how many runs they score, their entire will be made of right handers, if Shubman Gill is fit to play. If he isn't, then Ishan Kishan will be the only left handed batter in it. Conversely, no matter how bad a start Afridi gets off to in a tournament, he remains a left-arm pacer which always has been a threat for India.

Hasan Ali's threat

Kishan had nullified Afridi's threat in both the matches that was played between these two sides in the Asia Cup. In fact, Afridi ended up conceding 79 runs in the second match which indicated that the Indians seem to have figured out a plan for facing him. Among the current Pakistan pacers, Afridi and Rauf are players that the Indians have faced a number of times in the recent white ball games between the two sides but the same can't be said for Hasan Ali. The 29-year-old is a last minute inclusion in place of the injured Naseem Shah and he has got off to a good start, taking two wickets against the Netherlands and four against Sri Lanka.

While most people remember Mohammad Amir's destructive spell against India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final that Pakistan won, it is to be noted that Hasan Ali had played an important there as well. He returned figures of 3/16 in that game with MS Dhoni being among his victims and was player of the series in that tournament.

The fact remains, though, that Pakistan's best bet while looking to hurt the Indian batting lineup is for Afridi to go on a hot run in the first 10 overs. Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli falling for cheap will dent the lineup and while KL Rahul has been in exemplary form at No.5, he might just find it difficult to find steady partners with the Rauf, Hasan and the Pakistan spinners following up Afridi's burst.