Fierce cricketing rivals Pakistan and India are all set for their Asia Cup 2023 rematch on Sunday with a reserve day on Monday but the Sri Lankan rain refused to relent and still threatens the much-anticipated PAK vs IND clash.
The cricketing fever has reached its zenith as the two Asian giants are going face to face once again in the span of one week at the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2023; to ensure a complete match amid rain predictions in Colombo on September 10, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) yesterday announced a reserve day for the high-octane clash.
This decision came after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) echoed reservations about the scheduling of the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s stage in Colombo where heavy rainfall is forecast until the end of the tournament.
Consequently, if PAK vs IND clash gets washed out on September 10 then the action will resume on September 11 from the stage it was halted.
The arch-rivals came face to face in the group stage of the Asia Cup 2023 on September 2, however, the rain played spoilsport and deprived fans of the conclusion of PAK vs IND.
Pakistani pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah made India regret their decision to bat first under heavy clouds as they booked India on 266, despite Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya’s half-centuries.
However, the persistent downpour washed out the game without a single ball being bowled in the second innings of the blockbuster clash and the two sides settled for a point each.
Pakistan’s pace trio have stood out with 23 wickets between them and played a key role in the team’s performance so far in the Asia Cup 2023.
Indian batters struggled against Pakistan’s pace battery in the previous encounter and will be eyeing to bounce back, with KL Rahul also expecting to make a comeback in tomorrow’s game, which will help bolster their batting power.
The 31-year-old Rahul has not played any competitive cricket since getting injured during the Indian Premier League in April-May. He has developed an injury niggle unrelated to the original thigh problem.
However, adjusting Rahul in the batting order will be a challenge for Indian management as his replacement Ishan Kishan has scored four half-centuries in his last four innings, including the last PAK vs IND clash.
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah is also back after missing out on the match against Nepal due to personal reasons.
He made his comeback from injury in the T20I series against Ireland last month and made an immediate impact with a man-of-the-match performance in the first game.
However, he couldn’t bowl against Pakistan in the last match due to persistent rain in the second innings, so his match fitness for the ODI match will be tested in Sri Lankan conditions.
Pakistan on the other hand has already announced the Playing XI for the anticipated Asia Cup 2023 Super 4s clash, with Faheem Ashraf replacing Mohammad Nawaz from the lineup that faced India last week.
Faheem Ashraf made his return to the ODI side in Pakistan’s first Super 4 stage match against Bangladesh, after a long hiatus of two years. His last outing in the ODI format before then was during Pakistan’s three-match away series against England in July 2021.
Faheem Ashraf picked the prized scalp of Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and will be Pakistan’s trump card in the middle overs, as Indian batters played fluently in that phase.
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Meanwhile, the spearhead of Pakistan pace attack Shaheen Afridi, ahead of PAK vs IND tomorrow, has warned that his devastating spell against arch-rivals India was just the start and the best is yet to come.
“Every match against India is special and people watch this a lot,” Shaheen Afridi said on Friday. “I used to wait for this match as a fan before I played under-16 cricket.”
“I can’t say this has been my best spell so far. This is just the start and there will be many more, so the best is yet to come.”
The left-arm fast bowler rattled the Indian top-order in their Group A clash last week, returning magnificent figures of 4/35 which included the wickets of star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
With all the noise around Pakistan’s bowling against India’s batting, it is yet to be seen, how Pakistani batters tackle the Indian bowling lineup. It would be interesting to see, only if the weather allows this time around.
FORM GUIDE:
PAKISTAN W, W, W, W, W (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
INDIA W, W, L, W, L
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:
Overall ODIs: Matches 133, India 55, Pakistan 73, NR 5
Asia Cup ODI: Matches 14, India 7, Pakistan 5, NR 2
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