Not IND vs PAK But Ganguly Picks THIS Match As 'Big Game' Of ODI World Cup 2023

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India vs Pakistan is consistently one of the most exciting matches in world cricket with the rarity of the battle in the modern day making every match eagerly anticipated and fiercely contested. With the release of the ODI World Cup schedule placing the India-Pakistan match in the biggest cricket stadium in the world in Ahmedabad, the hype for the contest has already begun to heat up. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who was part of a couple of high-voltage India vs Pakistan World Cup matches himself in 1999 and 2003, came up with a very interesting opinion about the nature of the rivalry in recent times, claiming India's dominance over Pakistan has led to the quality diminishing from the past.

Indian team schedule for World Cup 2023:

IND vs AUS, Oct 8, Chennai
IND vs AFG, Oct 11, Delhi
IND vs PAK, Oct 15, Ahmedabad
IND vs BAN, Oct 19, Pune
IND vs NZ, Oct 22, Dharamsala
IND vs ENG, Oct 29, Lucknow
IND vs Qualifier, Nov 2, Mumbai
IND vs SA, Nov 5, Kolkata
IND vs_ pic.twitter.com/glcHxzolae

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 27, 2023

"There is a lot of hype in this match but the quality has not been that good for a long time because India kept on winning one-sided. Pakistan probably defeated India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in Dubai," said the former Indian captain on Star Sports.

Ganguly's confidence in India's dominance is slightly unfounded: in the 2020s, Pakistan and India have played 4 T20I matches, splitting them 2-2. However, Pakistan have certainly had the more important wins. The 10-wicket victory in Dubai meant India weren't able to recover in that tournament, while Pakistan overcame India in the Asia Cup at the Super 4 stage despite losing earlier in the tournament. India's two wins, at that Asia Cup and the Virat Kohli-inspired fightback in Melbourne during the 2022 World Cup, have been largely inconsequential compared to those Pakistan victories, especially with Pakistan reaching the 2022 final despite the Melbourne loss.

"India did not play well in that tournament (2021 T20 WC) but according to me, India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup because the quality is better," Ganguly added. He is certainly accurate in stating India has dominated Pakistan at the ODI World Cup level: in each of the last seven editions, India have beaten their rivals with relative ease.

In fact, in the ODI format, India have won 10 ODI matches compared to Pakistan's four since 2010. Pakistan, however, famously beat India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, proving they are capable of beating their rivals in the longer format as well. Having said that, many won't agree with Ganguly's assessment of India-Pakistan matches not being high-quality encounters. The MCG match in the 2022 World Cup is one of India's most famous T20I wins, going right down to the last ball and requiring a heroic effort by Kohli to stave off defeat. Equally, both Asia Cup encounters were decided in the last over of the match, first by Hardik Pandya's finishing and then by Asif Ali's.

Whatever the case, the World Cup match at the Narendra Modu Stadium on October 15 is certain to pack the stadium to capacity and have every eye in both countries glued to the TV, with the prospect of an India-Pakistan contest providing drama and excitement in itself.