Dubai: It’s probably a lucky phase for India- Pakistan cricket fans, as the men in blue will take on Pakistan for the second time in a span of 10 days. As they begin their campaign in the Super-four of the Asia Cup that too on a Sunday, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Sunday, September 4, starting to stream at 7:30 PM on Star Sports.
Both teams will look to make a winning start to their Super four campaign. India will look to continue their winning spree in the tournament with wins over Pakistan and Hong Kong in their previous matches. Meanwhile, Pakistan will be wary of the good record of India against them in the last five T20Is. India has managed to secure wins in the last four matches of the five played between the two sides. With both sides facing injury concerns, it will be interesting to see how their playing 11 shapes up.
India’s star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the Asia Cup with a knee injury, while Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani is out for the game with a side strain.
The wicketkeeper’s concern will continue for Rohit Sharma as he will have to Choose between Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik, with the former bringing in the X-factor, while the latter being in great form as a finisher.
Pant is likely to get a nod ahead of Karthik in this encounter, with the sole left-hander Jadeja ruled out of the Asia Cup.
Also Read:“Still Time For T20 World Cup, Cannot Rule Out Jadeja”: Rahul Dravid
Big relief for team India is that, finally, the drought of runs for Virat Kohli has ended in the last match, with opener KL Rahul also spending some much required time in the middle. However, the team will expect Rahul to play with a lot more freedom.
Notably, India and Pakistan clashed in a moderate-scoring thriller in their last encounter. This was a match that opened their campaigns at the Asia Cup 2022. India made a winning start to its title defense by defeating Pakistan by five wickets. Hardik Pandya (3/25) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/26) helped in bundling out Pakistan for 147 in 19.5 overs. Rizwan was Pakistan’s top scorer with 43.
Chasing 148, Virat Kohli (35), Ravindra Jadeja (35), and Hardik Pandya (33*) made contributions that guided Team India to a five-wicket win with two balls to spare. Mohammed Nawaz (3/33) and Naseem Shah (2/27) delivered solid performances for their side with the ball.
However now, the stakes are high this time around. Both teams are looking forward to starting their Super Four Phase with a win which will make their road to the Asia Cup final easier. Fans are also praying that both Asian giants do well going ahead so that they battle it out in the final as well.
Pakistan probable Xi
Babar Azam (c), Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Shahnawaz Dahani.
India probable Xi
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
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