Kandy is buzzing from the heat, despite rain prediction, of arguably the greatest sports rivalry between two Asian giants India and Pakistan, who are set to lock horns today in the third match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023.
This rivalry and the game of cricket have evolved massively across decades and have created many stars in both countries, who etched their names in the history books with performances in this storied rivalry.
Asia Cup is an important chapter in this rivalry, where the Asian powerhouses squared off against each other 13 times in the ODI format. India has an edge with seven victories, while Pakistan have come out on top in five games.
Overall, Pakistan and India have faced each other in 132 ODI matches. Pakistan have come out victorious on 73 occasions, whereas India triumphed in 55 matches.
However, barring the famous Champions Trophy final victory in 2017 under the inspired leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan have failed in four of their last five ODI games against India.
The upcoming Asia Cup clash is going to be the first time these two Asian powerhouses face each other in the ODI format since their 2019 ODI World Cup match in England. Current Indian captain Rohit Sharma guided Men in Blue to the victory over Pakistan, as he played a blistering 140-run knock off 113 balls.
Although India and Pakistan faced each other twice in last year’s Asia Cup, and both teams won one game each, however, last year’s Asia Cup was played in T20I format, as the tournament is played on a rotation between ODI and T20I formats, based on the format of upcoming ICC event.
Pakistan kicked off their Asia Cup 2023 campaign with a dominating 238-run victory over the debutant Nepal in the opening game of the tournament.
Captain Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed scored centuries, gaining much-needed momentum going into the high-octane match against India. However, Pakistani opening batter Fakhar Zaman’s form is a major concern for the team.
Since his undefeated 180 against New Zealand in April, he has only managed to score a mere 139 runs in seven innings, including the recently concluded ODI series against Afghanistan where he scored 59 runs in three matches.
Although Iftikhar Ahmed set the stage on fire against an inexperienced Nepali side, Pakistan’s middle order’s inconsistency is a big woe for the team. Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, and Iftikhar Ahmed have all struggled greatly in recent times.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam’s weakness against wrist spinners is also alarming, with Indian left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav having an excellent record against the Pakistani captain.
Babar Azam faced Kuldeep Yadav in three ODI games and managed to score only 18 runs, while Kuldeep got him out twice.
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On the other hand, India are facing a team combination conundrum, paired up with injury woes as KL Rahul got ruled out of the first two games of the Asia Cup. He is likely to be replaced by wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan.
Ishan Kishan scored three half-centuries at the top of the order in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against West Indies.
However, Indian management rested senior players in the series and tested different combinations. Despite Kishan’s performances, captain Rohit Sharma is expected to return to his usual spot at the top of the order with Shubman Gill as his partner leaving Ishan Kishan to adjust himself in the middle order.
Suryakumar Yadav has been a force to be reckoned with in T20Is, but he failed to replicate his T20I exploits in ODIs, scoring 511 runs in 24 innings at a subpar average of 24.33. Even at his best in T20Is, he failed against Pakistan’s pace attack scoring only 57 runs in four outings.
Pakistan’s pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, is arguably the most feared bowling trio in the world and they have all shown their brilliance against the Indian side in T20Is.
With their current form, it is expected to be an enthralling battle between Pakistan pacers and the Indian top order featuring Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Records suggest that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma enjoy batting against Pakistan. Virat Kohli averages 48.72 in 13 games, including a match-winning 183 in Asia Cup 2012 match at Mirpur, while, Sharma averages 51.42 in 16 games. Both have registered two centuries each against the arch-rivals.
Nonetheless, it is expected to be a great competition between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, two of the greatest batters of modern times. Babar Azam is currently sitting at the top of the ODI batting ranking, the position which was once held by Virat Kohli.
Indian bowling line is bolstered by the return of Jasprit Bumrah, who recently made his comeback from injury in the T20I series against Ireland and made an immediate impact with a man-of-the-match performance in the first game. However, his match fitness for the ODI match will be tested against Pakistan in Sri Lankan conditions.
Before taking the field in the much-anticipated clash both teams have played 12 ODIs in the ongoing year and lost only three out of them.
FORM GUIDE:
PAKISTAN — W,W,W,W,L (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
INDIA — W,L,W,L,L
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:
Asia Cup ODI: Matches-13, India-7, Pakistan-5, NR-1
READ: Pakistan’s Playing XI for Asia Cup 2023 India clash unveiled