Home ›› 28 Aug 2022 ›› Sport
India and Pakistan will take on each other in Asia’s hottest cricketing rivalry today on the second day of the 2022 Asia Cup.
The match will be India’s shot at revenge against their arch-rivals for the 10-wicket defeat in the 2021 T20 World Cup, where Shaheen Shah Afridi wreaked havoc in their top order to crush the Indians early.
For India, the good news is that there is no Shaheen this time. But their worry is that they don’t have Jasprit Bumrah either, opening the way for Pakistan’s already in-form top order to score runs for fun at the start of the innings.
While Pakistan will rely heavily on their top order consisting of skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Fakhar Zaman to deliver the goods, for India, their big concern lies in Virat Kohli, who has been struggling with his form for more than two years.
Shadab Khan, Pakistan’s vice-captain, though believes Kohli can turn it around in the Asia Cup but hopes that it is not against them.
“I pray that he returns to how he was. I personally wish that he scores a century; not against us, but against some team else in this tournament,” he said.
Last year’s win set up Pakistan to reach the semi-final of the World Cup, while India were knocked out of the Super 12.
But since then, India have taken on a new aggressive approach, and KL Rahul, who will open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, said they will try to take on the bowlers as much as possible.
“Last season we had spoken about what we need to improve individually and how as a team we try to be more aggressive, put the bowlers under pressure by going out there and play with a lot of authority, freedom and aggression,” he said.
Their new approach has also brought dividends as they have won 16 out of 21 Twenty20 Internationals this year.
Rahul believes this new approach will pay them dividends till the World Cup.
“It’s done really well for us, the new approach. From now on it’s only about building on it and getting stronger and by the time the World Cup comes, everyone knows exactly what to do,” he said.
The right-handed batsman added that they were excited to face their arch-rivals.
“We are all very excited. As players, we always look forward to this India-Pak clash as we don’t play each other anywhere else but these big tournaments,” Rahul added.
India are starting as hot favourites, while Pakistan are currently a bit on the backfoot due to the absence of Shaheen and Mohammad Wasim Jr.
But Shadab believes the other bowlers can fill in for those who are out.
“Shaheen Shah Afridi’s absence is a blow as he is our main strike bowler. But the beauty of cricket is that it’s not an individual but a team game. We have many match-winning bowlers in our family,” he said. The leg-spinner also understood the importance of starting well.
“Sunday’s match is important as it will set the tone. But we are not overthinking, a tactic that worked for all of us last year. We are trying to keep things simple and straight, and our focus is one game at a time,” Shadab added.
India and Pakistan have played three matches in Dubai, two One-Day Internationals and one T20I. While India won both ODIs, Pakistan have won the T20I.
