India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022: Preview: India, Pakistan eye bright beginning to Super 4

India
head
into
the
Asia
Cup
2022
Super
4
with
a
clean
record,
they
are
at
the
top
of
the
table
with
two
wins
in
two
matches
and
four
points
in
Group
A.

While
Pakistan
is
in
the
second
position
with
one
win
in
two
matches
and
two
points.

ASIA
CUP
2022
SPECIAL
PAGE

Notably,
India
and
Pakistan
had
clashed
in
a
moderate-scoring
thriller
in
the
group
stage.
This
was
a
match
which
opened
their
campaigns
at
the
Asia
Cup
2022.

India
made
a
winning
start
to
its
title
defence
by
defeating
Pakistan
by
five
wickets.
Hardik
Pandya
(3/25)
and
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar
(4/26)
had
helped
in
bundling
out
Pakistan
for
147
in
19.5
overs.

Rizwan
was
Pakistan’s
top
scorer
with
43.
Chasing
148,
Virat
Kohli
(35),
Ravindra
Jadeja
(35)
and
Hardik
Pandya
(33
not
out)
made
contributions
that
guided
Team
India
to
a
five-wicket
win
with
two
balls
to
spare.

Mohammed
Nawaz
(3/33)
and
Naseem
Shah
(2/27)
delivered
solid
performances
for
their
side
with
the
ball.

But
now,
the
stakes
are
high
this
time
around.
Both
teams
are
looking
forward
to
start
their
Super
Four
Phase
with
a
victory
which
will
make
their
road
to
the
Asia
Cup
final
easier.
Fans
are
also
praying
that
both
Asian
giants
do
well
going
ahead
so
that
they
battle
it
out
in
the
final
as
well.

Indian
top
order
consisting
of
KL
Rahul,
Rohit
Sharma
and
Virat
Kohli
will
have
to
deliver
their
best
in
this
match.

While
Virat
seems
to
have
shed
some
rustiness
after
his
unbeaten
59
not
out
against
Hong
Kong,
openers
Rahul
and
Rohit
are
still
struggling
to
give
a
positive
start
and
make
the
most
out
of
their
power
play.

For
Rohit,
the
task
will
be
to
get
among
the
runs
again
while
for
Rahul,
it
will
be
not
only
about
scoring,
but
also
maintaining
a
healthy
strike
rate.
Indian
middle
order
has
shown
more
reliability
as
of
late.
Likes
of
Suryakumar
Yadav,
Hardik
Pandya,
Rishabh
Pant,
Dinesh
Karthik,
Deepak
Hooda
have
stepped
up
and
taken
responsibility
whenever
they
needed
to.

Swashbuckling
batters
like
Suryakumar,
Hardik,
Pant
will
be
looking
forward
to
showcasing
their
wide
variety
of
strokes
against
a
quality
Pakistan
attack.

Indian
bowling
has
been
good
largely,
with
likes
of
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar,
Arshdeep
Singh
and
Hardik
Pandya
delivering
not
only
key
wickets,
but
also
economic
spells.

Pacer
Avesh
Khan’s
expensive
outing
against
Hong
Kong,
in
which
he
conceded
53
runs
in
four
overs,
is
a
cause
of
worry.
It
will
be
interesting
if
Avesh
gets
the
backing
of
team
management
despite
being
leaking
runs
with
the
ball
as
of
late.

Ravindra
Jadeja,
India’s
most
trusted
all-rounder
will
miss
out
due
to
an
injury
and
his
side
will
miss
his
services
in
all
three
departments
on
the
field
dearly.
Spinner
Yuzvendra
Chahal
and
Axar
Patel
(who
has
replaced
an
injured
Ravindra
Jadeja)
will
also
be
looking
to
be
as
dominant
as
pacers
on
UAE
pitches,
which
have
largely
benefited
India’s
pace
attack.

Coming
to
Pakistan,
they
are
heading
into
the
match
with
their
morale
high
after
crushing
Hong
Kong
by
155-runs.

Though
their
dependency
on
star
batter
Babar
Azam
is
a
concern,
it
was
great
seeing
the
likes
of
Mohammed
Rizwan,
Fakhar
Zaman
and
Khusdil
Shah
making
up
for
Azam’s
underwhelming
performance
and
scoring
runs.

Azam
will
be
aiming
to
regain
his
best
form
for
this
crucial
clash.
Pakistan
should
also
exercise
caution
while
playing
Indian
bowlers
as
it
is
not
Hong
Kong
or
any
other
associate
team
playing
against
them
this
time.

They
are
going
toe
to
toe
with
a
team
that
is
just
as
world-class
as
theirs.
Pakistan’s
bowling
has
been
fantastic
in
Asia
Cup
so
far.

Young
pacer
Naseem
Shah
has
been
fantastic
in
the
two
T20I
matches
he
has
played
so
far
and
has
filled
the
shoes
of
his
leader
Shaheen
Shah
Afridi
to
a
good
extent.
Pacer
Shahnawaz
Dahani
has
been
great
too.

Spinners
have
been
Pakistan’s
biggest
assets
in
this
tournament,
with
spinner
Mohammad
Nawaz
leading
the
bowling
charts
with
six
wickets
under
his
belt.

Leg-break
bowler
Shadab
Khan
is
not
too
far,
sitting
at
third
with
five
wickets.
Pace
and
spin
will
have
to
deliver
brilliantly
if
Pakistan
is
to
win
this
match.
Irrespective
of
what
the
result
is,
Asia
Cup
2022
is
set
to
deliver
yet
another
‘Super
Sunday’ in
Asian
households,
a
continent
housing
millions
of
obsessed
cricket
lovers.

Many
of
them
will
flock
to
the
stadium
to
catch
the
action,
but
the
idea
of
catching
live
action
on
TV
with
friends,
family
and
some
delicious
food
by
their
side
will
also
be
great.

India:
Rohit
Sharma
(captain),
KL
Rahul,
Virat
Kohli,
Suryakumar
Yadav,
Rishabh
Pant,
Deepak
Hooda,
Dinesh
Karthik,
Hardik
Pandya,
Axar
Patel,
R
Ashwin,
Yuzvendra
Chahal,
Ravi
Bishnoi,
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar,
Arshdeep
Singh,
Avesh
Khan

Pakistan:
Babar
Azam
(c),
Shadab
Khan,
Asif
Ali,
Fakhar
Zaman,
Haider
Ali,
Haris
Rauf,
Iftikhar
Ahmed,
Khushdil
Shah,
Mohammad
Nawaz,
Mohammad
Rizwan,
Hasan
Ali,
Naseem
Shah,
Shahnawaz
Dahani,
Usman
Qadir,
Mohammad
Hasnain.