In the third match of the Asia Cup 2023 Super Fours stage, the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, will encounter each other once again tomorrow, September 10, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo at 3 PM IST.
Despite the fact that we are far into the Asia Cup 2023, India have only played for a short period of time, defending Nepal by 10 wickets and playing a washout game against Pakistan. With the two arch-rivals going off again, the Men in Blue will face a genuine test of their abilities. With both openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, back in form, fans may expect a strong start from Team India with the willow. The middle-order batters, who are yet to show any signs of form, will be of particular worry. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, for example, are yet to demonstrate their abilities in the current edition. Nonetheless, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya were brilliant in the group-stage outing against Pakistan, and now there are also speculations of KL Rahul getting a game, but who he will replace will be a major question. With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah, who has returned to the squad after being in Mumbai for personal reasons, will be put in the XI right away and will attempt to crush a few toes. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will try to cause havoc with the ball, while Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will also want to make an impression.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have played two full matches and successfully won both of them. Whether it’s Babar Azam or Mohammad Rizwan, the batting appears much more sophisticated than it did a few years ago. At the end of the innings, Iftikhar Ahmed has also shown his talent with the bat, demonstrating Pakistan’s readiness to play the full 50 overs with precise planning. With the ball as well, Pakistan are the top-ranked team with the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. In their three matches yet, the side obtained 30 wickets, which clearly states how dangerous the side is with the ball.
Head to head:
In the head-to-head ODI encounter between the two teams, Pakistan enjoys the lead over India. In 133 games, Pakistan prevailed 73 times whereas India did so just 55 times.
Under the Asia Cup format, the two sides played 14 ODIs, with Pakistan winning five times and the Men in Blue winning seven. Rain forced the cancellation of the match in group Sage earlier in the 2023 competition.
Where to watch:
TV: Star Sports
OTT: Disney+ Hotstar