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Asia Cup 2018: Strongest Indian XI to beat Pakistan

The matchup between India and Pakistan is the most awaited contest of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament. Both teams would want to win the match and give joy to their loyal fans. The match is expected to be a close contest and the team with the best balance in their line up would definitely win.

Let's have a look at the strongest Indian playing XI to beat Pakistan when the two teams meet each other- __________________________________________________________________________

#1 Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

India v Ireland - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan complement each other really well in ODIs while opening the innings. They have opened in 78 innings together and have scored 3444 runs together. This run tally is the eight on the all-time list of successful ODI opening partnerships. They have featured in ten hundred partnerships together. They will be expected to provide a strong start against Pakistan and allow the middle order to play to their strengths.

Rohit Sharma will have to play his natural game and bat as long as he can. His innings will be crucial to India's success against Pakistan. Shikhar Dhawan has to play his usual attacking innings and form a useful partnership with Rohit.

The openers hold the key to India's success against the Pakistani line-up.

#2 Middle order - Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav

Australia v India - Game 5
Manish Pandey needs to play to his strengths

Manish Pandey should come in at number three. He is an aggressive middle order player and can play vital innings for the team when required. His ODI record is pretty good with an average of almost 40. He has scored a brilliant century against Australia to chase down 330 runs. His batting needs to come good if India needs to prevail against Pakistan.

Ambati Rayudu is a brilliant limited overs cricketer. He has the ability to construct an innings well and also play big shots when the situation arises. His average of 50 in ODI's prove that he is very consistent and hard-working player.

Kedhar Jadhav is a very useful batsman. He has scored two ODI centuries and possesses an average of almost 40. His part-time spin is also very useful and can break threatening partnerships.

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