Now that the two arch rivals do not play any bilateral series for political reasons, India-Pakistan matches in international multi-nation tournaments add to the intrigue of the story’s rivalry between the two cricketing superpowers.
India and Pakistan are set to meet in the first match of their Asia Cup on August 28 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. It will be match number 2 of the Asia Cup, which was shifted to the United Arab Emirates due to the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka. Island nation.
Both India and Pakistan have lost their fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi to injuries but that will not affect the excitement and excitement that comes with the India-Pakistan encounter.
TimesofIndia.com Here’s a look at some of the major player battles that can be the difference between victory and defeat and what you need to pay attention to:
Virat Kohli Vs Usman Qadir
Virat Kohli may be going through a lean phase by his high standards, but undermining the former India captain in a match as a big mistake would be a mistake Pakistan would not want to make. India’s first match of the Asia Cup against Pakistan will be Kohli’s 100th T20I and he will score more goals than anyone else to get a strong score.
There is no doubt that Virat Kohli really comes into his own when playing against Pakistan. He . All-time leading run scorer in India vs Pakistan T20I clash. So far both the teams have played 9 T20 matches against each other, in which India lead 6-2. One match ended in a tie, which India won via a bowled out in the 2007 T20 World Cup.
Virat has played 7 T20Is against men in green so far, scoring 311 runs with 3 half-centuries at an astonishing average of 77.75 and a strike rate of 118.25 with the highest score of 78*.
Kohli is yet to score a T20I century and there could be no better chance than this to complete his first T20I century and get back in form.
But to stop Kohli from reaching that point would be the great Abdul Qadir – son of Usman Qadir. Kohli will be extra cautious against all bowlers but it can always be difficult to deal with leg-spinners when the batsman is out of form and trying to score runs fast.
The 29-year-old Usman, who has a similar line of action as his late father, has not played any T20Is against India yet and is looking to make an immediate impact. Overall, Qadir has taken 24 wickets in 18 T20 Internationals with a best of 4/13. He made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi in 2020.
It is no secret that Virat has struggled against right arm wrist spinners. The opposition teams want to take out a leg-spinner while Virat is still new to the crease. In 2020, Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who has traditionally troubled Virat a lot in limited-overs cricket, was quoted as saying – “We basically found that Virat had to play leg-spinners early in his innings. It’s hard to line up.”
While Virat has found it difficult to read leg-spinners in T20I cricket on more than one occasion, if he survives the opening attack, he can counterattack on leggies as well. Virat actually has the best strike rate and average against leggies.
Virat vs Usman – A batsman who wants to score big scores and silence his critics against a bowler who has the arsenal to trouble one of the best batsmen of this generation. Watch out for this major player battle.
Rohit Sharma Vs Naseem Shahi
Not only are India the defending champions of the Asia Cup in both the ODI and T20I formats, but they also have the maximum number of Asia Cup titles overall – 7.
The last Asia Cup edition was played in the ODI format in 2018 and Rohit Sharma led India to the title in the absence of Virat Kohli, who was rested for the tournament in the UAE.
And Rohit will be keen to repeat that success story this time around and for that, India will have to make a winning start in the all-important game against the other big title contenders – Pakistan.
Rohit has been a great batsman for India in T20Is, having already scored 4 centuries in the format – the most by any batsman in the world. He is a tried-and-tested match-winner and as an opener he can give his team invaluable momentum if he goes ahead.
However, Rohit does not have a very impressive T20I record against Pakistan, having scored only 70 runs in 8 matches with the highest score of 30 not out. Needless to say, the Indian captain would be looking to change some of those figures.
Rohit will first face fast bowler Naseem Shah who is known for his quick pace and ability to swing and seam the ball. And Rohit, who can be a bit volatile early in his innings, needs to be extra cautious when facing Naseem. The Indian captain can get stuck on the back foot at the start of his innings and Naseem will be aware of it. When he first comes to the crease, Rohit’s legs don’t move well and Naseem, who can scorch the pitch at his own pace, will try to get Rohit back early.
Though 19-year-old Naseem has played 13 Tests and 3 ODIs, he still has one T20 International to play and what better chance than that to make a memorable debut against an arch-rival. There is no doubt that he will be desperate to get rid of the Indian captain and a leading batsman in the blue jersey.
The teenager made his Test debut in 2019 but is very new to the limited-overs format, having recently made his ODI debut in the series against the Netherlands. He returned figures of 3/51 in his first match in his 10 overs.
There is a high chance that Naseem will be picked for the opening match of India vs Pakistan. A modern day batting legend versus a tearful rookie – this is a match you will not want to miss.
Suryakumar Yadav vs Haris Raufi
Suryakumar Yadav started his international career relatively late but is now the linchpin of the Indian top-order and is among only four Indian batsmen to score a T20I century against his name.
Known for making his incredible 360-degree shots, Suryakumar was part of the Indian line-up that lost the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan last year. He scored just 11 runs in that match by hitting a six and a four. Having established himself as a formidable force in T20Is this time around, in which he has a strike rate of around 176, with a century and five fifties, Suryakumar will look to put his wide shots on display on Sunday. Memories of that painful defeat of India.
What sets Sky apart from many other batsmen is his ability to tackle both pace and spin well once he settles in. When he scored his maiden T20I century against England sometime back, he kept on shuffling outside the leg stump to make room for himself. When the bowler chased him, he played effortlessly either to the leg side or the inside out shot to the off side.
Sky has come a long way from becoming a batsman who didn’t have off-side shots. But that is a thing of the past, even as he is regularly compared to AB de Villiers – Mr 360 Degrees himself.
Pakistan will know that if they want to limit the damage caused to Sky, they will have to get rid of it quickly. Enter – right hand sharp, Haris Rauf. Rauf has the ability to bowl at a speed of 140 kmph and can also touch the speed of more than 150 kmph. That can be a tough proposition to deal with when he’s on song. In the 2021 T20 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan, Rauf dismissed Hardik Pandya for 11, dealing a big blow to India. What people on the green will remember about Suryakumar from that game is that he fell to Hasan Ali, a bowler not much different from Rauf.
Rauf could be one of those bowlers who were tasked to dodge Sky at the start of his innings. Rauf has the ability to throw an unstoppable bouncer and is a weapon that he can win against Suriya if this player plays a fight.
Rauf has so far taken 42 wickets in 35 T20 Internationals with best figures of 4/22.
While Skye should have the upper hand in the form he has been, if Rauf turns up the heat, we could have a very juicy match on our hands.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Babar Azam
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have the added responsibility of attacking early and stopping Pakistan from getting off to a quick start.
With his ability to bring the ball back to the right-handed batsmen, Bhuvneshwar will be a real threat to Pakistan’s top order, which will be led by their captain Babar Azam, who is currently among the best in the world.
Bhuvneshwar has played 4 T20Is in total against Pakistan, taking 5 wickets with a best of 3/9. Overall, Bhuvneshwar has 73 wickets in 72 T20Is with two four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.
Interestingly, Babar Azam has played only one T20I against India and led his team to a stunning unbeaten 68 in that T20 World Cup match last year that no Indian fan would want to miss. Overall, Babar has one hundred 26 half-centuries to his name in the 74 T20Is he played, in which he scored 2686 runs.
Although he is almost invincible on the song, Babar has been troubled in the past by a bowler like Trent Boult, who has the ability to take the ball through the air. Bhuvi will surely have the knowledge that will be hidden in the back of his mind when he will bowl for the best batsman of the Pakistan team and the leader of his team. Watch out for this key player fight that promises to produce some very good cricket.
Ravindra Jadeja vs Mohammad Rizwan
In the T20 World Cup match, which was played last, India had no answer against the Pakistan openers as Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam ran away with the match, winning by 10 wickets.
Team India, like any other quality side, would have learned a lot from that painful defeat. And one of them would have been, not to let Rizwan settle down.
It will come as no surprise that Rohit Sharma brought in Ravindra Jadeja early in the attack with the new ball to trouble someone like Rizwan. Jadeja has the ability to bowl fast through the air, hitting the same line and length regularly, and then suddenly throwing in a variation.
One of the bowlers who troubled Rizwan in the recent Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in July was left-arm spinner Prabhat Jayasuriya. Like Jayasuriya, Jadeja uses the ball that goes straight to the arm as a very useful variation, especially when turning the track.
Jayasuriya, who was man of the series in the two-Test series against Pakistan in July this year, actually plotted Rizwan’s wicket in the second innings of the second Test, which Sri Lanka won by 246 runs to level the series at 1-1. Arm-ball close to the stump. Rizwan was expecting the ball to turn, but it did not happen and it hit his stump.
And this homework is something that the Indian team would certainly have done to devise a bowling plan against Rizwan, who has fast become one of Pakistan’s most dependable and prolific batsmen.
Idolized by the great Adam Gilchrist, Rizwan is a free-flowing batsman who can turn the match on its head in the blink of an eye with his batting, which was quite evident when he smashed a 55-ball 79* Was. With the help of 3 sixes and 6 fours in that T20 World Cup match against India.
Overall, Rizwan has played 56 T20Is with a century and 13 half-centuries at an average of 50.36 and a strike rate of 128.83.
Meanwhile Jadeja has played 5 T20Is against Pakistan in which he has taken 4 wickets with a best of 2/11. Overall the Indian all-rounder has taken 50 wickets in 62 T20Is with a best of 3/15.
Watch out for Jadeja vs Rizwan.
If the Indian bowlers manage to send bowlers like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan back to the pavilion early, half the job will be done for the Men in Blue, as Pakistan’s middle order is still inexperienced.