India will lock horns with Pakistan on Saturday (September 2) at Pallekele Stadium in Kandy. This will be the first time the teams will meet after a gap of 10 months. The last time the two arch-rivals met was in 2022 during the T20 World Cup. This time, IND vs PAK will clash in 50-over format, with ODI World Cup 2023 just around the corner.
Pakistan played the opening match of the Asia Cup against Nepal and thrashed the opponent by 238 runs. Senior players Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Afridi stepped up. However, the biggest positive to emerge from their victory against Nepal was the century of Iftikhar Ahmed. The right-hand batter looked assured in the lower middle order – an area where Pakistan have struggled in white-ball formats.
India also have their fair share of struggles in the middle order. Asia Cup will give both these teams a chance to resolve issues.
Also Read:
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- BCCI prez Roger Binny, Rajeev Shukla to attend Asia Cup matches in Pakistan
- Check World Cup squads
IND vs PAK Dream11: India’s middle order batting in focus against Shaheen Afridi & Co
India vs Pakistan is always about India’s batters vs Pakistan bowlers. This time also it won’t be any different. India’s top order will be tested by Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, & Naseem Shah. While the focus will always remain on Shaheen, Rauf, and Naseem have also proven to be match winners. India are heavily dependent on their top three – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli.
It is this top order that Pakistan would like to expose. The middle order has been India’s Achilles heel. Shreyas Iyer has done well at number four, and he is expected to play against Pakistan after proving his match fitness. KL Rahul is still unfit, which provides Ishan Kishan another opportunity to cement his place in the ODI team.
The bowling looks good with Jasprit Bumrah’s return and Shami and Siraj’s return. India will likely play two spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
IND vs PAK: Pitch Report
The match will be played in Kandy. The pitch here is good for batting as the ball nicely comes to bat. The surface will be a bit on the drier side, so spinners can thrive on this pitch. 250 is the average score here.
Match Details
Match: IND vs PAK, Asia Cup 3rd match
Date & Time: September 2, 3:00 PM
Venue: Kandy
Live Streaming: Disney + Hotstar
IND vs PAK: Top Fantasy Picks
Captain: Babar Azam
Vice-captain: Virat Kohli
Wicketkeeper: Mohammad Rizwan
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Gill, Fakhar Zaman
All-rounders: Shadab Khan, Hardik Pandya
Bowlers: Shaheen, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav
IND vs PAK: Probable Playing XIs
IND: Rohit Sharma, Gill, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj, Shami
PAK: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Azam, Rizwan, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Shaheen, Naseem Shah
