India versus Pakistan is one of the biggest matches in any sport, but when it comes to cricket, the anticipation among the fans is almost unbelievable
The Asia Cup is back after an absence of almost two years and this time it will be played in the T20I format in contrast to the previous edition which was a 50-over tournament. The format of the Asia Cup solely depends on what format of the World Cup is approaching. The T20I world cup is just more than a month away, therefore, the asia cup will be played in the T20 format. The Asia Cup begins on Saturday, 27th August, 2022 with the first game to take place between Srilanka and Afghanistan. The marquee match-up of the group stage is between arch rivals India and Pakistan who nowadays face each other only in multi-nation tournaments and not in any bilateral series. India won the last Asia Cup in the UAE and are the nation with the highest number of Asia Cup titles under their name.
India won the last edition of the Asia Cup going unbeaten throughout the tournament
On Sunday, August 28, 2022, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host the India vs. Pakistan Asia Cup 2022 T20I Match. Both sides will be eager to compete in this game, which will be the second of the competition. Along with notable players like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma will serve as the team’s captain. The vice-captaincy has been assigned to KL Rahul. Under the leadership of Babar Azam, Pakistan will battle against the strong Indian contingent. Both the teams would be without their star bowler for the tournament as Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out due to a back injury while Shaheen Shah Afridi is suffering from a knee injury. The teams would be hoping their bowlers are fine for the T20I World Cup starting in October.
Both Pakistan and India would be hoping that their speedsters are fit for the World Cup later this year!
India go into the 2022 Asia Cup on the back of some excellent form and have hardly put a foot wrong after the humiliation at the last T20 World Cup. India will start as the pre-tournament favorites going into the tournament. They also hold the title of reigning champions after beating Bangladesh in the tournament final and winning the Asia Cup in the UAE in 2018. The leading T20I squad in the world is also playing well. Prior to the Asia Cup, they won T20I series against South Africa at home and abroad in the West Indies, England, and Ireland. India have a plethora of options to choose from in almost all departments and their bench strength is something everytime just desires. But going into the tournament, India’s fast bowling looks a bit shaky as two of their star T20 bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel are not available for the tournament. India have gone with the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan alongside experienced veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders and it would be expected that he delivers on the big stage. India’s batting is not a big concern as the team’s all aggressive approach is working out just fine. They have found the right balance as there are a mix of players who can smack the ball from the start as well and also anchor an innings if needed.
Indian fans would be hoping their white ball specialists, Virat Kohli and SuryaKumar Yadav score the runs for their team and lead their team to victory
India’s Team for the Asia Cup : Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal
India’s Predicted Playing XI vs Pakistan : Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
Team India have back-ups for almost every position and would be hoping they can win their 8th Asia Cup title this year
According to the ICC T20I team rankings, Pakistan is placed third. Although Pakistan has a reputation for being an erratic squad, they have recently been rather reliable. The T20 World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan from last year is the clearest example of how the men in green are capable of outperforming even the best in the world. According to the ICC T20I batting rankings, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are placed first and third, respectively. The two batters can sometimes play out a T20I innings without losing their wicket and provide Pakistan strong starts at the top more often than not. Lack of T20I cricket going into the tournament is one big issue for Pakistan. Pakistan has only played one T20I match up till the competition and It was a one-time matchup with Australia so there is a chance that the players could thus be rusty. The absence of top pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is another problem. Due to a knee issue, the pace spearhead is out. Pakistan’s quick bowling will be less effective without Afridi. All eyes will be on Babar Azam, and what approach he will be using. He would be hoping for a similar result to that of the 2021 T20I World Cup.
Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam were the key instigators in handing India a 10-wicket defeat at the 2021 T20I World Cup
Pakistan’s Team for the Asia Cup : Babar Azam (Captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain
Pakistan’s Predicted Playing XI vs India : Babar Azam (Captain), Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani
Shaheen Shah Afridi was earlier named in the squad but owing to a knee injury was ruled out later on
Head to Head – India vs Pakistan in the Asia Cup
Matches Played : 14
India Wins : 8
Pakistan Wins : 5
No Result : 1
Match Details
Match 2 : India vs Pakistan
Venue : Dubai International Stadium
Time : 7:30 P.M IST or 6:00 P.M (Local time) or 7:00 P.M (PKT)
India have the slighter edge over their rivals but shouldn’t take Pakistan lightly after what happened last October
Pitch Report : The ground at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium initially favors the pacers but tends to become more bat-friendly as the game goes on. The surface’s strong bounce and movement will help the pacers take advantage of it and quickly take wickets. At the start of the inning, the hitters must exercise caution. Given that the pitch has a considerable turn, the spin overs will be essential. The teams pursuing a score have recently had greater success than the teams defending at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It might be wiser to bowl first after winning the toss here because the dew also has a tendency to influence the outcomes of the games.
The pitch certainly will prefer the team batting second but the quality of opposition on the day will surely determine the match result
The crazy match between India and Pakistan draws in millions of viewers. Although the two neighbors don’t often engage, when they do, it’s a real nail-biter for both fans and analysts. This time, it will be over 11 months until India and Pakistan face off. These two teams last faced off in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021.India is still processing its lopsided loss to Pakistan last year. Many Indian supporters are still haunted by the images from that match, but Rohit Sharma and his team would be eager to play Pakistan and turn the tables. India might just have the edge over their neighbors going into the game given the match practice they have had in this format of late but Pakistan can be an unpredictable side on their day. Only time will tell who will get the better of their arch rivals in this epic clash.
