IND vs PAK: Team India players worried about Pakistan match? Rishabh Pant reveals mood in the dressing room

Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant has admitted that he along with his teammates will be under pressure when they face Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. 

Team India led by Rohit Sharma is all set to take on Babar Azam's Pakistan in what will be both the team's second Group stage match of the tournament. The historic match, which never fails to deliver, will take place in the city of New York, USA for the first time ever. The Nassau County stadium in NY will play host to the massive fixture. 

From India's perspective, the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli among others are ready for the challenge. In the previous T20 World Cup edition in 2022, the Indians increased their winning lead over Pakistan, thanks to Kohli's sensational knock of 82* off 53 balls. The Men in Blue had secured victory by 4 wickets at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

What did Rishabh Pant say about the clash against Pakistan? 

Rishabh Pant, who made his National team comeback on June 1 after a gap of 18 months, was in a conversation with Star Sports recently. Therein, Pant spoke about his tough and painful journey to recover from the horrific car accident he had suffered in December 2022. 

Following the tragic incident, Rishabh Pant was out of action for more than a year. The flamboyant batter made his competitive return through the 2024 Indian Premier League where he captained the Delhi Capitals to a 7th spot finish in the points table.

Despite DC's failure to reach the playoffs, Rishabh Pant's captaincy skills were widely appreciated by the expert analysts. They were also impressed with Pant's batting as he scored 446 from 13 outings at a strike rate of 155.40. He scored 3 half-centuries along the way with a best score of 88* against the Gujarat Titans.

That prompted the Chief selectors to give a direct entry to Pant in the Indian team and he repaid that with a half-century in the warm-up match. The left-hander's arrival in form is good news for team India, which is going to start their ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland on June 5th. 

After that, the iconic Indo-Pak clash will take place on June 9th, and in the build-up to the game, Rishabh Pant has admitted that the nerves will kick in. "It’s always quite exciting because it’s a special match. You always feel more pressure because people remember these matches for a long time." - Pant told Star Sports. 

Can India go 7-1 up on June 9?

India's head-to-head record against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup is simply incredible. Since the inaugural tournament back in 2007, the Indians have lost only once against the Men in Green. In 2007, MS Dhoni's side had beaten their arch-rivals once in the Group stage and then in the final at the Wanderers Stadium, South Africa. 

It took them 5 years to meet again in the T20 World Cup 2012 wherein India picked up a 8-wicket win before a 7-wicket and 6-wicket win in 2014 and 2016. Pakistan's decade-long wait to win their first game over the Indians came to an end in 2021 when Babar Azam led his side to a 10-wicket win and in their last meeting Virat Kohli inspired India for the win.