PAK vs IND Player Battle, Pakistan vs India Key Player Battle for Asia Cup 2023, Asia Cup 2023 PAK vs IND Player Battle, Pakistan vs India Match Asia Cup 2023, Shubman Gill vs Naseem Shah Player Battle, Imam-ul-Haq vs Mohammad Shami/Jasprit Bumrah Player Battle.
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It is a mouthwatering contest between two traditional arch rivals of the game. Pakistan will take on India in the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in the third match of the Super 4s. The resurgence of Pakistan as a limited-overs side in the recent few years has added spice to this rivalry. India had the better of Pakistan for large part of the last decade. The contest had started becoming a one-way traffic. But Pakistan’s win in the 2021 T20 World Cup set things back in motion.
The matches involving these two sides ever since has been nothing short of a thrilling blockbuster. It won’t be any different when they go head-to-head in a high-stakes game of the Asia Cup. India had lost to Pakistan in the Super 4s last year albeit in the T20I format. Pakistan will aim for an encore when they clash against their nemesis.
Is this Pakistan side similar to the champion team of 90s?
Pakistani team was a different beast in the 90s. Imran Khan-led Pakistan tasted resounding success at home even in the 80s. Their World Cup win in 1992 was the icing on the cake. It was virtually impossible to defeat Pakistan in ODIs back then. Their pace triumvirate of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar made life difficult for most batters. Pakistani batters complemented their bowling and they won most of the tournaments they participated in.
This side under Babar Azam seems no different. Pakistan made the semis of the 2021 T20 World Cup and were the runners-up in the following edition. In Babar, they have the world’s number one ODI batter in their ranks. Imam-ul-Haq is an epitome of consistency. Rizwan Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed bring in enterprise while their pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf is arguably the best in the world. They will look to win both the Asia Cup and the subsequent World Cup in the coming few months.
Will real India show up?
The last few months hasn’t been great for Indian cricket at large. They lost the semifinal of the 2022 T20 World Cup, lost the WTC Final, and even lost a T20 series against West Indies. There has been a lot of chop and change in the team owing to different reasons. They looked largely undercooked in the opening game against Pakistan. The side doesn’t inspire confidence leading into an important couple of months. There is humungous expectation from the side and the match against Pakistan could be a good starting point to turn things around.
We look at the PAK vs IND Player Battle:
#1 Shubman Gill vs Naseem Shah Player Battle
Both these players have a lot in common between them. Shubman Gill and Naseem Shah are almost of the same age. In such a young career both of them have become all-format sureties for their respective teams. The only obvious difference between them being Gill opens the batting while Shah opens the bowling. Gill looked clueless against the hostile bowling of Afridi and Shah in the first game. He is too good a player to repeat the same mistake this time around. Shah though will be keen to outsmart Gill once again.
#2 Imam-ul-Haq vs Mohammad Shami or Jasprit Bumrah Player Battle
The left-handed opener has been batting at a different level in the ODIs. Imam-ul-Haq keeps churning out fifties with remarkable ease. He will look to counter India’s new-ball bowlers with trademark calm and poise. Jasprit Bumrah is a doubtful starter and Shami in all likelihood will retain his place in the XI. Both these bowlers challenge the best in the business but do they have the overs behind them to threaten Imam? It is a question that they might not have a straightforward answer to.
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