Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan, whose 73 powered them to a second successive win over the USA in the T20 World Cup has said the highly anticipated fixture against India isn’t a big deal. Citing the team’s recent performances where the likes of Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan have also been scoring runs, Farhan hoped they will have a good game against India. The India vs Pakistan group stage which was under a cloud of uncertainty is now going ahead as schedule on February 15. Having been humbled by India in ICC events where they have won only match – during the 2021 T20 World Cup – Pakistan start this game as underdogs. And Farhan said the two wins from the first two matches gives them the confidence. “See, when you win two matches and are at the top of the table, you feel confident. The upcoming match is not such a big deal, we’re not playing against them for the first time. We’ve played before and this time we’ll play with a different mindset. You’ve seen us in the shake-up. You must have seen our struggle in the middle. You must have seen that Shadaab is making run, Nawaz is scoring runs. So hopefully you will enjoy our game against them,” Farhan said after their win against the USA on Tuesday in Colombo. During the Asia Cup, which India won, their captain Suryakumar Yadav had said the matches against Pakistan have become one-sided and there is no contest given the gulf in class. Asked whether Pakistan will take the field to prove a point or two to India, Farhan denied that the matches have become one-sided. “No, I think the way we played in the last Asia Cup, we didn’t play one-sided. We played and fought till the end . We didn’t play a one-sided match till then end and hopefully this time against we’ll play a wonderful game,” Farhan said. During the Asia Cup, Farhan had a good outing against India in the second round. More importantly, Farhan showed he is capable of fronting up to Bumrah. Given the form he has been, Farhan said it should do him a world of good on Sunday. “I think when you make runs you are confident. I am also very confident and the way the last two innings have gone, I’m very confident. It’s a normal match. We’ll play like a normal match. We won’t put it in our head that this is an India – Pakistan match, it is a normal match and we will play it like a normal match,” he said.
India match is not a big deal, says Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan
