New Delhi:
India's formidable batting line-up, which has new match winners, gives them an upper hand against Pakistan in the "final before final" of the Champions Trophy, legendary leg-spinner Abdul Qadir said on Thursday.
India have already made it to the semifinals and Pakistan are out of contention, having lost their first two matches. The result of the Saturday's high-voltage match will have no bearing on their fortunes in the tournament.
"India are playing like a champion and I think they will play the final. Their strength lies in their batting. Despite the absence of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir in their line up, they are scoring 300 plus runs.
"They played brilliantly in first two matches. They also have two new match winners in Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja. India enjoy upper hand but Pakistan is capable of springing surprises. They will give their best in this match and we must not forget that Pakistan has one of the best bowling combinations," Qadir said.
Qadir also stressed that the match may be inconsequential but it still was important for the teams and their fans.
"Whenever India and Pakistan play, there is always a different kind of feeling. People do not keep in mind the importance of the match, they only want to see their team winning it. It is final before actual final for cricket fans of both the countries.
"India will try to keep the winning momentum while Pakistan will do some extra effort for their fans as they don't want to lose this one after first two defeats," he said.
Qadir is also in awe of Indian bowling attack which according to him is getting better with experience.
"India has improved a lot as far as bowling is concerned. They have good pace bowlers and every one knows about their spinners. If they include leggie Amit Mishra in the final eleven, it will be a perfect attack," he said.
