Asia Cup T20 Match 4 Preview: Asian giants India and Pakistan gear up for a cracking contest

The India – Pakistan rivalry is set to be renewed as both teams meet at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium for the much-awaited clash. India has an advantage over Pakistan as the numbers suggest that they have done well against their arch-rivals in the past. Out of the 6 T20Is, India has won 5 while Pakistan has managed to win just one. The two teams last met in Adelaide during the 50-over World Cup game which India won by 76 runs. However, Pakistan’s unpredictability and reputation of throwing a surprise makes them a potent threat. If we talk about the strengths and weakness of both teams it would be just like every time; India’s batting versus Pakistan’s bowling.

It’s always hard to predict whether what would happen when India and Pakistan collide but the contest has been riveting every time these two giants meet in big events.

India:

India already kicked off their World T20 preparations in style with a convincing win over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener. There is no reason to worry about the batting department. Rohit Sharma who has now transformed into a limited over giant looks unstoppable. Shikhar Dhawan may be inconsistent but can rip through any attack on his day. The attention will also be on Virat Kohli who got out for a single digit score in the last game. However, Kohli raises his standard automatically when comes out to playing against Pakistan. He would be itching to go out and clobber the opposition against whom he has done very well traditionally.

MS Dhoni would be a worry for India. He played with back spasm against Bangladesh and did not look comfortable at all. In case of uncertainty, Parthiv Patel will replace him. In the middle order, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina will play a significant role while Hardik Pandya’s emergence gives a lot of confidence to the unit. The experienced Ashish Nehra and the young Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack and test the Pakistan top order. The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja’s spell in the middle overs will also be a determining factor for India.

Pakistan:

For Pakistan, the opening pair is likely to be Mohammad Hafeez and Sharjeel Khan. Sharjeel was added into the squad at the last moment due to his performance in the PSL. Umar Akmal is also fresh from a wonderful PSL season where he scored 355 runs and would like to carry his form into this game. The pressure would be on Shoaib Malik to perform on whom Pakistan will depend on for his experience. Sarfraz Ahmed has the natural ability to save games for his team and will be a key factor tomorrow in the middle order.

Pakistan made it clear that they will play by their strengths after opting for an extra fast bowler in their squad over a frontline spinner. Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, and Mohammad Amir will take the fast bowling slots in the team. Comeback man Mohammad Sami may feature if Afridi opts for a four-men pace attack. However, if the team chooses to add strength to the batting order then seam bowling all-rounder Anwar Ali may come in. All eyes will be on Amir who will have an opportunity to earn high credibility. The immensely talented left-armer will definitely want to fire all cylinders. Skipper Shahid Afridi will team up with all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who is fresh from the 13 wickets in PSL, in the spin bowling department.

Stats that matter:

• The highest individual score by a batsman in India-Pakistan Twenty20 clashes is 78. Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 78 in the 2012 World Cup encounter in Colombo.
• Virat Kohli is the highest run-scorer in contests between India and Pakistan in T20Is with 150 runs in four games at an average of 75.
• Umar Gul has taken 11 wickets in six games with the best haul of 4/37 at an average of 16.18. This is the most number of wickets taken by an individual bowler in Twenty20 internationals between India and Pakistan.
• Yuvraj Singh, with 7 sixes, holds the record for the most number of sixes hit by an individual batsman in T20I clashes between India and Pakistan.
• There have been only two four-wicket hauls in clashes between these two nations. Gul picked up 4/37 in Ahmedabad in 2012 while Mohammad Asif picked up 4/18 in the 2007 World Cup in Durban. For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the best bowling figures of 3/9 which he achieved in Bangalore in 2012.
• India has played 6 T20I matches in Mirpur and lost only one, and that was the ICC World T20 2014 final against Sri Lanka. Pakistan has also played 6 matches at the venue but won only thrice.

Probable XI:

India:

Rohit Sharma, Shikhara Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra

Pakistan:

Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Khan (wk), Shahid Afridi (C), Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan