'They will be the key': Ravi Shastri identifies India's biggest strength ahead of IND vs PAK game

India will square off against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14, 2023. The said encounter will be match number 12 in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. It will be India's 3rd match in the competition, so far India have defeated Australia and Afghanistan in the journey.

3 things you need to know

• India vs Pakistan is scheduled to take place on October 14, 2023
• The match will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium
• Shubman Gill is expected to return

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Ravi Shastri highlights India's strength ahead of IND vs PAK match

For India, the onus of putting runs on the board will once again be on the veteran duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and if they perform then the chances of India winning will escalate.

Former India head coach, Ravi Shastri, has also highlighted the Kohli-Sharma factor as the decisive in the Ind vs Pak game and stated that if they both get runs then India will look to score a big total.

"I think at the top, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be key. If they both get going and one gets a hundred, I emphasise that 300, 320, 330, that is very much a possibility," Shastri noted.

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Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's record against Pakistan in ODIs

Virat Kohli has featured in 15 games against Pakistan in ODIs and accumulated a sizeable figure of 662 runs at an average of 55.16. In the process, he has registered 3-century marks.

As for Rohit Sharma, he showcases an emphatic record against Pakistan and on many occasions has singlehandedly taken the game away from Pakistan. In the 2019 World Cup, Hitman played a blinder of a knock of 140 runs against Pakistan, which left them distraught and out of sorts. In the ODIs, Rohit Sharma has come against Pakistan a total of 18 times and most of the times he has proven to be a strength for Team India. In these matches, Sharma has scored a total of 787 runs at an average of 52.46. He has two centuries and 7 half-centuries against Pakistan in the 50-over format.