Asia Cup 2018: Match 5, India vs Pakistan, Preview- Clash between Virat-less India and Men in Green's pace-venom

Both teams have won equal number of matches (5) against each other in the Asia Cup.

Published - 18 Sept 2018, 17:29 IST | Updated - 18 Sept 2018, 17:29 IST

View : 1.1K

2 Min Read

After a thumping victory against Hong Kong by eight wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Pakistan are set to cross swords with their arch-rivals India at the same venue. The clash is considered to be the most intensified among all the group matches. Indian batsman Virat Kohli has an impressive record against the Men in Green, but he won’t be a part of the marquee encounter.

The clash is mostly deemed to be a battle between the belligerent Indian batsman and the brutal Pakistani pace attack, which has as many as four left-arm fast bowlers. The Indian team management are undoubtedly wary of the same and in order to counter their venom, Rohit Sharma and Co roped in Sri Lankan left-arm throwdown specialist Nuwan Seneviratne for the 50-overs tournament.

In the meantime, the power-packed Indian batting lineup has been touted to be weakened due to Kohli’s absence and many of the players from the opposition has talked about taking advantage of his absence from the playing eleven. As far as the multi-nation extravaganza is concerned, both India and Pakistan have won five matches each in event ever since its inception back in 1984.

Team Combination

India

India are likely to make a couple of changes and bring in Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in place of Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed respectively. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are the opening batsman. KL Rahul remains to be out of the eleven and Ambati Rayudu is listed to bat at number three. Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav come at number four and five respectively.

MS Dhoni is the designated wicketkeeper in the lineup. Pandya is the genuine all-rounder. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bumrah are likely to share the new leather. The onus will be on Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the spin bowling department to strangle the Pakistani batters. Both have been phenomenal ever since they forayed into cricket at the highest level.

Predicted XI

Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

Pakistan

Pakistan won’t want to make any changes from their last match. Fakhar Zaman, after missing out against Hong Kong, will want to deliver. Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam, being the other top-order batsmen, need to step up as well. Shoaib Malik has two centuries against India in the Asia Cup out of three matches and the onus will again be on the Sialkot-born experienced campaigner.

In the bowling department, Usman Khan was the pick of their bowlers against Hong Kong. Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf also looked in decent touch. The 26-year-old speedster Mohammad Amir was outstanding against the Men in Blue the last time they met in the Asia Cup and his role is expected to be vital. Shadab Khan is the lone spinner along with the part-time off-breaks of Malik.

Predicted XI

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (C & wk), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan

Players to watch out for

Kuldeep Yadav- India

The chinaman has an incredible record in his 23-match career and batsmen have found it difficult to effectively read him. However, he is yet to play a match against Pakistan and it will be interesting to see how Sarfraz’s men handle his guile and trajectory. The 23-year-old was also the leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded ODI series against England with nine wickets from three matches.

Mohammad Amir- Pakistan

The Punjab-born bowler hasn’t had the best of time of late in national colours. He went wicketless against a not-so-strong batting lineup. Thus far, the 26-year-old has picked five wickets against India in four matches. Back in 2016, he made his international comeback against India in the Asia Cup itself and rattled Men in Blue’s star-studded batting lineup.