Opinion: Arch Rivals India Pakistan will clash in a dead rubberÂ
The wait is over for every cricket fan in the subcontinent as the mother of all battles is upon us. India and Pakistan will take on each other in the Asia Cup Group A match in what is actually a dead rubber. The two sides will play an International match against each other for the first time since the Champions Trophy Final 2017.
Having beaten Hong Kong in their opening matches, India and Pakistan have qualified for the Super 4s. This means that the result of today's blockbuster clash is irrelevant and would only decide the winner and runner-up of the group.
Even though the game has less importance, the rarity of the India-Pakistan match in recent times makes it special. The two only meet in ICC events and Asia Cups, owing to political tension between the two countries.
The two have had contrasting victories over minnows Hong Kong. On Saturday, Pakistan comfortably chased a target of 117 with more than 26 overs to spare after the bowlers lead by Usman Khan bowled the Associate nation for a paltry total of 116. India, on the other hand, were made to work hard for their win. For a very significant part of the game, Hong Kong was the side dominating the match as India sneaked through with a win, which made sure they reached the latter stage of the tourney.
India would be concerned with the way they batted in the last 10 overs of the innings, especially after the start that Shikhar Dhawan's century had given them. Another problem for India was Hong Kong's opening stand of 174 runs. It seemed that the men in red would run away with the match until Kuldeep Yadav provided the breakthrough in the 34th over.
On any other day, India would have taken this as a positive thing with questions being asked before the big game, but not yesterday as they have to play Pakistan today, meaning they have to play a game, 19 hours after the match vs Hong Kong.
Pakistan would like to make changes in the playing 11, as they will look to rest their key players before the Super 4s where they will meet Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and India as they look to stamp authority on the pre-tournament tag of 'Favourites'.
Mohammad Amir, who has just taken 3 wickets in 8 ODIs he has played in 2018, maybe the player who gets the opportunity to rest and reignite himself before the latter stages. The batting order may not be changed as they look to get tested vs India after the chase against Hong Kong was a cakewalk for the two time Asian Champions.
India's preferred playing 11 will be on display today, as they rested the key players who were part of the test team vs England in the first game. KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah may comeback against Pakistan. It will be interesting to see who makes their way out. Bumrah may come into the side but it will be cruel on Khaleel Ahmed if he is dropped as he bowled well and picked 3 wickets in what was a memorable debut for the left arm pacer.
All the pitches in the tournament so far have been slow and Wednesday as well will be no exception. The spinners from both the sides will play a crucial role for their side to win the game.
There will be no room for error as both the look to make most of this dead rubber clash and gain confidence.