Asia Cup 2022: 3 reasons why Team India are favorites to beat Pakistan
Probably no fan of the Indian team would have forgotten their embarrassing defeat against their arch-rivals in last year's T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue were beaten comprehensively across all departments by an incredibly balanced Pakistan side.
Shaheen Afridi, the star of the show, was simply unplayable for openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma with the new ball. Although then-captain Virat Kohli salvaged some pride with a respectable 57, the total of 151 was not challenging enough.
Any hopes of a miracle with the ball were dashed as both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan ensured Pakistan won the game without losing any wickets. This might give Babar and Co. a psychological advantage as they ended Pakistan's jinx of losing 12 consecutive games against their neighbors in World Cups.
However, things have changed a bit over the past 12 months as Pakistan might face a different Indian team this time around, which might not be easy to just walk over. On that note, here's a look at three reasons why the Men in Blue have an edge over their arch-rivals going into the encounter on August 28.
#3 India has better quality spin options
Yuzvendra Chahal and Shadab Khan having a chat at the practice session in Dubai. The leg-spinners' union! Who will take more wickets between them in Pakistan and India matches? #AsiaCup2022 https://t.co/uePVtgejNn
India have made it clear from their squad that their mantra is going to be 'spin it to win it'. The Men in Blue have picked as many as five spinning options in Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Hooda too, if need be.
Pakistan also have talented spinners like Usman Qadir and Shadab Khan in their ranks. However, they have banked more on pace and all-rounders like Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed, who are better known for their batting.
If conditions in the UAE suit the spinners more, which they generally do, this could prove to be the difference between the two sides.
#2 No left-arm pacer for Pakistan
Shaheen’s injury Big relief for the Indian top order batsmen. Sad we won’t be seeing him in #AsiaCup2022 Get fit soon Champ @iShaheenAfridi https://t.co/Fosph7yVHs
Shaheen Afridi's knee injury is a huge blow for Pakistan as it was he who made the difference the last time these two sides met. India's top-order have clearly struggled against left-arm pacers around the world and this could well be a crucial factor that will go against Pakistan.
Although they have Naseem Shah and Muhammad Hasnain who can trouble the opposition with their searing pace, the angle that a left-armer creates is something that the Men in Blue will be happy not to face.
#1 India's formidable middle-order
"Of course, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL are there but one of my favourite players in these days SuryaKumar Yadav. He has been phenomenal. He is the biggest threat for Pakistan in Asia Cup." - Wasim Akram
One of the main reasons why captain Rohit Sharma has been able to inculcate the attacking brand of cricket is because of the batting depth that the team possesses. They know that even if they lose a couple of early wickets while going hell for leather, they have a number of match-winners who can keep them in the game.
The return of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli might mean that Suryakumar Yadav will slot back into the No.4 position. With Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant as well as the veteran Dinesh Karthik to choose from, India really have reliable players in the middle-order.
Pakistan, on the other hand, are without the experience of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. This will make them even more reliant on Babar and Rizwan since the likes of Haider Ali and Khushdil Shah lack the experience of big games. If India can make early inroads, they could expose Pakistan's inexperienced middle-order