T20 World Cup 2022: Tom Moody advises India batters to be watchful and not conservative against Pakistan

Melbourne, Oct 21: The highly-anticipated T20 World Cup 2022 match between India and Pakistan on Sunday (October 23) is on everybody's mind. India's playing eleven, as well as the outcome of the match, against a formidable rival, are the major talking points.

Rohit Sharma-led Indian side arrived in Australia a couple of weeks ago to assess the conditions ahead of the Super 12 stages of the tournament. With different weather, pitch conditions and dynamics of stadiums compared to the ones in India, both teams will have to get their tactics spot on at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Ahead of the mother of all battles, former Australia cricketer Tom Moody reckons India's batting-heavy side will have to bring their A-Game against a formidable Pakistan bowling line-up. He also advised the Indian batters not to be conservative in their approach, and be watchful instead.

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While speaking on Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Moody spoke on the match-up between the two teams and said, "I think it's an intriguing contest, because, to me, India are a batting-strong side while Pakistan, I think, are a bowling-strong side. So, for me, it's a real contest as to how well India bat against a very strong new ball attack. If they get through that, I see India controlling the game. But that's where they need to manage - in the first six overs. Now, we know it's T20, we know it's Power Play, and we also know that if we want to get off to a flyer, we have to manage that carefully. So, I'm not saying you need to be conservative, you need to be watchful."

Moody - who is the current Director of Cricket of Sri Lanka Cricket - also advised both teams to be tactfully aware of pitch and playing conditions on the given day at the MCG.

"I think there's one thing you need to take into consideration of the pitch. The pitch at The Gabba is a bouncy one. Is it going to be the same at the MCG? I wouldn't take it for granted that it would be the same as The Gabba. Another thing to take into consideration is the big boundaries. Yes, there will be big boundaries at the MCG, we know that. It's a big venue, so the short ball and the use of that length, hard length, with that change of pace into that length, is the key to bowling at the MCG. So, I'm sure both teams are very aware of what the tactical play is with the ball in those top-end overs and particularly in those defensive overs," Moody added further.

The 57-year-old also picked up the three pacers in the Indian playing eleven for the high-profile game and also backed senior pacer Mohammed Shami - who impressed in the warm-up game against Australia.

"I'd be going with Shami. I'd just go with his experience. Obviously, Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and Arshdeep (Shami) are the first two. I just think that in big tournaments, you back big players. And he's a big player with a lot of experience. He may be short with some volume in his bowling, but that one over he bowled against Australia would have gone a long way with regards to not so much the physical side of things, but definitely the mental side of things," Moody - who has been associated with several IPL franchises in the past - added further.