Pakistan will go head to head with India in a high voltage encounter of World Cup 2023 today in what promises to be a battle for the ages.

No Pakistan fan needs to be reminded of their beloved team’s horrendous record against the Men in Blue in world cups. Having said that, there’s also no need to reiterate what Pakistan captain said in his pre-match conference prior to the game.

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It is safe to say that Pakistan, despite two wins in the bag, are still not the favourites to win the tie against a well-settled Indian side playing at their home ground in what is expected to be one of the highest attended sporting events.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the highest attended ODI of all time was the game between India and South Africa in Calcutta where the number of spectators reached 100,000. The Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad has a capacity of more than 130,000 — of which most will be backing Indian as no Pakistan fans have crossed the border to watch their side play.

Understandably so, the pressure for the game would be throttling — to say the least.

On the performance front, Pakistan’s situation is not as bleak. They have won both of their first two games, of which one saw them chase down a record total against Sri Lanka.

The fact that those victories came despite no significant contributions from names such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Imamul Haq. It suggests there is much more room for improvement.

However, heavyweights aside, the rest of the side has fared well so far and pulled their weight.

Among the unexpected standouts has been Abdullah Shafique, who on his World Cup debut, smashed a 113 runs in a record run chase, and made one of the two opening spots his own for the foreseeable future.

Similarly, Saud Shakeel, another World Cup debutant, scored a crucial half century against the Netherlands after Pakistan were 38 for three. The newbie southpaw collected the Player of the Match award in his very first game of any major tournament.

Rizwan, meanwhile, has been a pillar for the Pakistan team at the number four spot. The keeper-batter has scored three centuries and nine half-centuries at an average of 50.36 while playing at two-down spot. His ton against Sri Lanka was just as crucial — if not more — in the win over Sri Lanka.

Another unexpected contributor has been veteran pacer Hasan Ali, whose selection was highly debated but is now making sense. The pacer collected four wickets for 71 runs in his 10 over against Sri Lanka and scalped two in the match against Netherlands.

Had the unusual suspects not risen to the occasion in the face of the usual suspects’ subdued start to the tournament, the equation for Pakistan would have been very different.

After all, star batter Babar has scored just 15 runs in two games, while pace spearhead Shaheen has conceded 103 runs in his 16 overs in the World Cup so far, picking up only two wickets.

These two players won the ICC Player of the Year in the past two years, which is why Pakistan’s unblemished record despite their no-shows is surprising.

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However, that was then and this is now. Babar now has to show up — especially when he knows he does not have to carry the scoring burden alone as there are batters around him who do not need his support anymore.

If Pakistan can chase down a total of 345 without any help from the captain then this is no one-man batting unit.

As far as Shaheen is concerned, his prowess with the new ball now appears to be a fading memory, which could do him good than bad as the batters may not be as wary against him in the opening overs, and thus opening themselves for mistakes.

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Another cause of concern has been the form of opening batter Imamul Haq. The lefty, who averages around 50 in the ODIs, has accumulated 3,000 runs and has ample experience now.

His numbers have been so impressive that they have largely silenced parchi (blue-eyed) accusations levelled against him at the start of his career.

However, he has failed in all of his innings since touching down in India so far, including the warm-ups. In fact, his highest score in the last five ODI innings has been a mere 16.

Getting back among runs in arguably the biggest ODI of the year would be a big boost for Imam — if he survives the axe and is not dropped for Fakhar Zaman, who is another out of form opener but played THAT innings against India six years ago.

Another star contributor not firing on all cylinders is Shadab Khan, who has taken 15 wickets in the previous 13 games he has played for the side at an average of 40.53.

This is another one of those significant contributors from that historic day at The Oval, which is why he will be retained — if not for the hope of a performance than the hope of a repeat of that game.