Asia Cup 2018: Wasim Akram predicts the winner of the Indo-Pak clash

The much-awaited rivalry between India and Pakistan is all set to take centre stage in the Asia Cup at Dubai. The Men in Blue had a forgettable outing the last time these two teams met in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017. Rohit Sharma is leading India in the Asia cup as the regular skipper as Virat Kohli has been rested after a long English tour. Pakistan defeated Hong Kong in their first encounter handsomely while India avoided an embarrassing defeat against the associate nation marginally.

Former Pakistani skipper Wasim Akram feels that India will start as favorites in Wednesday’s encounter. However, he was also of the opinion that the absence of the No.1 batsman in the world will give an added advantage to the Pakistani bowlers.

“Kohli has been rested and that is the right decision. When Gavaskar, Azhar and Tendulkar did not play, I was high on confidence. The Pakistan bowlers will be psychologically boosted with Kohli being rested.” Akram was quoted as saying by India Today.

A promising encounter on the cards

Sarfraz Ahmed and his men have been playing in these conditions for quite some time whereas the Indians do not have much experience of playing in the United Arab Emirates. It will be interesting to watch the way Indian batsmen tackle the fast bowlers as Pakistan have the best pace attack in the Asia cup.

Barring MS Dhoni, all the other batsmen got starts and some game time in the middle against Hong Kong. In the bowling department, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was not at his best but is likely to retain his spot for the marquee clash. The addition of Jasprit Bumrah will further strengthen India’s bowling lineup.

India hold the edge in Asia Cup encounters against Pakistan with a 6-5 lead in 12 matches. But Pakistan have a big 73-52 lead overall in 129 ODI games. Fans are expected to turn out in huge numbers to support their teams. This match will give us a glimpse of what lies ahead in the Asia Cup.

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