Confident India look to outclass Pakistan for the ticket to finale

Overall, India will once again be the favourites but an unpredictable Pakistan has the ability to bounce back and so another high-voltage clash could be on the cards on a super Sunday

Once again the cricket fanatics across the world will experience the most heated clash on the field as India take on Pakistan for the second time in a Super Four tie of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday. The men in blue are beaming with confidence as they have already defeated the arch-rivals in the group stage and would like to continue the same momentum today as well.

A strong-looking team India

Apart from the face-off against Hong Kong, India have dominated the UAE track so far in the tournament. And credit goes to the players for exhibiting an all-round performance. The opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Rohit Sharma has been impeccable. While Dhawan is the leading run scorer of the tournament, Rohit is carrying his sublime form as well.

The onus of the middle-order will be on the shoulders of Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik which will be further controlled by MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.

As far as the bowling department is concerned, skipper Sharma won’t go for any changes as the combination of 3 spinners and 2 pacers would be enough to outclass the arch-rivals. The Sarfraz Ahmed led greed brigade has struggled against the spin bowling, that too, on the tracks where they have played enough competitive cricket.

Moreover, the recent addition of Ravindra Jadeja may act as a surprise element for Pakistan. Jadeja, who returned to the ODI side after 16 months, picked up 4 wickets against Bangladesh.

Rusty Pakistan

Pakistan will need to come up with something special to stop a spirited team India. Opener Fakhar Zaman has failed to deliver in the tournament so far and was dismissed for a duck on two previous occasions against India and Afghanistan, and Pakistan may likely replace the left-hander.

Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq have been amongst top run earners, with 146 and 132 runs respectively from three outings. Veteran Shoaib Malik seemed to have regained his touch with his 43-ball unbeaten 51 to help Pakistan to a three-wicket win over Afghanistan.

The bowlers, however, have not been up to the mark as they allowed minnows Afghanistan to put 257 runs on the board in 50 overs. None of the bowlers makes to the top-10 of the wicket-taking chart and need to dish out something extra against a fine Indian batting line-up.

The battle for the ticket to the finale

Both India and Pakistan have won their respective first matches in the Super 4 round. India swept away Bangladeshi challenge while Pakistan were fortunate enough to win a nail-biting affair against Afghanistan. However, whichever team wins today, will confirm its berth in the finale which will be played on September 28.

The Final note

Overall, India will once again be the favourites but an unpredictable Pakistan has the ability to bounce back and so another high-voltage clash could be on the cards on a super Sunday.

Squads:

India - Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, M.S. Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, K. Khaleel Ahmed

Pakistan - Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Sarfraz Ahmed (Captain/ wicket-keeper), Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir