Despite being knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy after suffering two successive defeats, Pakistan still have a 50 per cent chance of winning their much-awaited clash with arch-rivals India tomorrow, the country's former players believe.
"It is always difficult to make predictions on a Indo-Pak game so I will say most of the time it is a 50-50 situation for both sides before a match," former captain Aamir Sohail said.
"No doubt India have a very strong and in-form batting side at the moment, but Pakistan's strength is its in-form bowlers and I think they will enjoy bowling at Edgbaston so it is a even situation," Sohail added.
He pointed out that the Edgbaston pitch had played slow and low so far in the tournament and this was something which will be good for the bowlers.
"I say 50-50 because both teams always play against each other with a special spirit and our players know the big difference of returning home after beating India and returning home after losing to them," he said.
Sohail also praised the batting of Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan saying he was the sort of a player who didn't allow bowlers to dominate.
Another former captain, Zaheer Abbas, hoped the Pakistani batsmen would rise to the occasion.
"It is a special game and our players must realise how much their supporters and fans will be expecting them to do well. My advice to them is play sensible cricket and apply yourself.
"In England you need to bat yourself in you can't just come and start playing your shots straightaway," Abbas, who played for a number of years in English county cricket, said.
