In the third match of the Asia Cup 2023, the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, will take on each other on Saturday, September 2 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele at 3 PM IST.
The defending champions of the ODI format of the Asia Cup will walk out fresh on the pitch tomorrow. The Indian team, which was surrounded by injuries throughout the past 12 months, is now well-equipped with some of its most experienced players in the format. The return of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have solved tons of the team’s issues. Rahul will be missing out on the first couple of fixtures but will join the team, later. Irrespective of ticking all the necessary boxes, a lot still depends upon the behemoths of Indian cricket, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The performances of the current skipper and former captain are directly proportionate to the team’s success in the upcoming enthralling competitions.
On the other hand, the neighbours will also enter the field full of confidence following a massive victory against the debutants Nepal in the first game of the tournament. The captain and the Pakistan frontline batter, Babar Azam conjured yet another century and Iftikhar Ahmed also scored his maiden international hundred. The bowling unit of Pakistan has been the talk of the town as Shaheen Afridi has been gathering wickets with the new ball consistently and Haris Rauf has been lethal with his pace. On paper, the Pakistanis have a well-structured team and will aim to carry the momentum from the previous victory and beat the favourites, India.
Head to head:
In the head-to-head competition between the two teams in the ODI format, Pakistan have the upper hand as they won 73 matches out of 132 fixtures and India emerged victorious on 55 occasions.
In the Asia Cup ODI format, the two sides faced off on 13 instances where the Men in Blue won and lost, seven and five times, respectively.
Where to watch:
TV: Star Sports
OTT: Disney+ Hotstar