हमें बल्लेबाजी में 120 गेंदों और गेंदबाजी में 120 गेंदों पर ध्यान केंद्रित करना होगा – रायन टेन डोसचेट

India vs Pakistan: Ryan ten Doeschate on Favourites and Focus

"Obviously, cricket at this level is about how you execute on the day. But yeah, I've been totally honest, and looking at the recent form and how the teams have played, I would say India do start favourites tomorrow," ten Doeschate said. "We'll be focused on the 120 balls with the bat, and 120 balls when we bowl, and the team that is more consistent over those 120 balls will be better.

"So we have no illusion as to the task ahead, and a big part of what we're trying to do and looking forward to is to stay grounded and just focus on getting better. The individual is getting better every day, so form counts are very important when you come to competitions, regional competitions like this."

Ten Doeschate also underlined that India had not done anything out of the ordinary for this clash. There had been no "special preparation for the Pakistan game," he said, and the emphasis all week had been on controlling the controllables, something coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed upon in the team meeting in the lead-up to this match.

"I was expecting a lot more needle at the Champions Trophy game. I didn't really feel that either. Certainly, the preparation and focus this week haven't been any different to our preparation for any other important game.

"The waiting period of knowing whether this [tournament] was going to happen was the most frustrating part," he said. "Once we knew we were going to be here, and playing, we have tried to get on with the business of it. This game, particularly, we haven't prepared differently, like I said, but we are obviously aware of the sentiments and strong feelings.

"Gauti's message has been sort of very professional about not worrying about things that are not in our control and being emotionless when approaching the cricket side of things. The guys are professional enough, I am sure.

"Individuals have different levels of feeling on the spectrum of where they feel the whole situation is, but the messaging has been to focus on the cricket, and try to focus on the one game tomorrow."