India and Pakistan will meet for the first time in 10 months in a 50-over match at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy on Saturday. The two arch-rivals last faced off in the T20 World Cup in 2022.
Pakistan started their Asia Cup campaign with a 238-run victory over Nepal. Senior players Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Afridi all performed well, but the biggest positive was the century scored by Iftikhar Ahmed. The right-handed batter looked solid in the lower middle order, an area where Pakistan have struggled in white-ball cricket.
India also have issues in their middle order. The Asia Cup will be a good opportunity for both teams to address their weaknesses ahead of the ODI World Cup later this year. The India-Pakistan match is always a battle between the batters and bowlers. This time will be no different, with India's top order facing a tough test from Pakistan's pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah.
Shaheen is the leading wicket-taker in ODIs among the three, but Rauf and Naseem have also proven to be dangerous bowlers. India will need their top three batsmen – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli – to fire if they want to post a big total.
Pakistan will be hoping to expose India's middle order, which has been their Achilles heel in recent years. Shreyas Iyer has done well at number four, but the likes of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have struggled. Ishan Kishan could get another chance to cement his place in the team.
The bowling looks good for India with the return of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are also expected to play, giving India a strong spin attack. The match is likely to be a close one, with both teams having a chance of winning. It will be a fascinating contest between two of the best teams in the world.
India Probable Playing XIs:-
Rohit Sharma, Gill, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj, Shami
Pakistan Probable Playing XI:-
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Azam, Rizwan, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Shaheen, Naseem Shah
Tags:
Asia Cup