Ind vs Pak, Asia Cup 2018: Match Preview
After a few one-sided games in the tournament, here comes one of the most entertaining and nerve-racking games. After a gap of more than a year, India and Pakistan are back and this time the Indian's will definitely take the revenge of the loss in 2017 Champions Trophy Final. Whereas Pakistan will look to better their record against India in this Asia Cup.
On comparing both the sides, India look more settled in terms of bowling than Pakistan. While Pakistan leads in terms of batting fire-power this time. Overall India has a better squad balance & more experience than Pakistan. Although India will definitely miss Virat Kohli, they have a strong squad.
Pitch: The match will be played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in UAE. The pitch is expected to be a batting paradise with some spin coming into play in the latter part of the game.
Head-to-Head: India leads the tally with 6-5 over their arch-rivals in 12 India vs Pakistan Asia Cup clashes.
Teams:
Pakistan- After an easy win against Hong Kong, the Sarfaraz led Pakistan is looking more confident to face their arch-rivals after a year's gap. Meanwhile, no changes are expected to the line-up, which means Pakistan will feature 4 pacers along with a lone spinner.
Playing XI:- Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Khan(C/Wk), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammed Amir, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan
India- The Indian side is likely to field a 3-2 bowling attack including a debutant. Khaleel Ahmed, the left-arm bowling sensation is expected to debut in the nerve-racking fixture. Also, Ambati Rayudu & KL Rahul are in a bid to take the no. 4 & 3 slots respectively.
Playing XI:- Rohit Sharma(C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL.Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, MS.Dhoni(Wk), Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah