Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli The two pillars of India’s white-ball team for the past decade, but suffered a setback at the same venue 10 months ago during the T20 World Cup, both know exactly where they stand and know how to turn them. What needs to be done. Table.
While Rohit will be eager to test his ultra-aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Kohli it will be an ideal platform to return to form after ending a tough phase in the past few years.
How did India and Pakistan perform in the Asia Cup?
There will be a bigger picture as well and that is to establish the key combination for the T20 World Cup in Australia by the end of this tournament.
With no bilateral competition between cross-border neighbors for 10 years and nothing in the near future, geopolitical tensions are always in for a major build-up.
But the lack of regular games has meant that the Indo-Pak rivalry is conducted between unfamiliar foes rather than familiar ones.
One cannot plan much against the opposition that the team plays once or twice a year, while one has to expect the unexpected.
In the last meeting India played against Pakistan, they had no idea how much Shaheen Shah Afridi had improved. Result: Loss by 10 wickets.
three seniors and a fight ahead
Afridi’s opening two-over spell during the last T20 World Cup opener had a lot to say in the Indian camp and was heavily criticized by the former India team management for his archaic batting approach in the shortest format of the game. .
Questions were raised whether the similarity in the three right-arm top-orders would make it easier for a good left-arm pacer to ring the alarm bells.
Although on Sunday, there will be no Afridi (due to a knee injury) to bow back among India’s top three right-handed batsmen, the fact remains that despite all the experiments by coach Rahul Dravid, the top order remains the same. made up. after that defeat Dubai,
The Rishabh Pant-Rohit duo showed a lot of promise with their gun-ho approach and Suryakumar Yadav at the top looked dangerous with his all-round stroke.
Deepak Hooda, though audacious as an opener, against Ireland, but with Kohli and KL Rahul available, it would be the experience to be seeded first in a high-profile game.
In the new set-up, KL Rahul is back after a surgery and a COVD-19 related lay-off. He has not played a single international T20 match in 2022.
In Kohli’s case, the number is four with a half-century against a sub-par attack from West Indies.
Rohit has played some fascinating short innings in the meantime, but more importantly, he has tweaked his batting philosophy to suit the needs of the team.
Will Kohli and Rahul be able to do this? This remains a big question going forward.
Vice-captain Rahul said during a media interaction on Friday, “It is great to see the new approach of the Indian team that started after the last World Cup, following the words of the captain, we are looking forward to continue this.” ”
However, a lot will depend on how the trio of Suryakumar, Pant and Hardik Pandya performs between 10 and 20 overs. With their explosive prowess, the trio could probably take the Afridi-less Pakistan attack to the cleaners, with designated finisher Dinesh Karthik likely to sit. out.
History of India in Asia Cup
Babar Azmi and her man
Babar Azam is very different from some of the Pakistani greats who have led the national team over the years.
A player who is as much about method as he is about talent, Babar has brought a calmness that has worked more than once over the years since taking over.
Along with Mohammad Rizwan, he forms a formidable combination at the top, but their respective strike-rate is less than 130.
Last year when he chased down a modest target in Dubai it worked wonders but will it work when he bats first?
While Fakhar Zaman continues to power at No 3 as well, the rest of the batsmen have not shown enough consistency. There are good players like flamboyant Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Haider Ali but they have little to show at the international level in terms of regular runs.
Will a Bumrah-less India go for an extra spinner?
If the disappearance of Afridi is a big blow for Pakistan, then the absence of Jasprit Bumrah is no less than a setback for India.
With his absence (back injury) and also missing from dependable T20 bowler Harshal Patel (rib-cage injury), Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have young death over specialist Arshdeep Singh for the company.
The match will test Arshdeep’s skills but will test his temper in tough conditions.
The presence of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya adds to the balance, but the bone of contention will be if Rohit and interim head coach VVS Laxman choose additional spinner Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravi Bishnoi at the expense of Avesh Khan, who could be prolific and lethal. at the same time.
It promises to be a better competition than the last one.
Training sessions for boys keeping in mind the intensity level #AsiaCup2022 | #BackTheBoysInGreen https://t.co/LfDXhsdzvV
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) 1661537368000
squads
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
Pakistan: Babar Azam (Captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain, Hasan Ali