🏏Asia Cup 2023: M3: IND vs PAK on 02/09/2023 - Th#2 link Pg 150🏏

🏏Asia Cup 2023: M3: India vs Pakistan at 3 PM IST on 02/09/2023 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele 🏏

India and Pakistan don't get to play each other too often but when they do, calling it a high-octane match is barely scratching the surface. Emotions run wild, stadium tickets are sold out, vendors make a fortune, television screens are still broken, and the outcome of the contest often overshadows context. And in this Asia Cup there could be three such contests, starting with the one on Saturday (September 2) in Pallekele.

But round one of the clash of the heavyweights could well be a stalemate, going by the weather forecast which suggests rain and thunderstorms throughout the day. The last time these two sides faced off in an ODI was in the 2019 World Cup. They have played four T20I matches since then, in the 20-over version of the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. The weekend game could also be another shortened affair, should the weather even allow that.

India are entering the competition armed with a full-strength team for the first time in several months. They completed a camp in Alur in the outskirts of Bengaluru, and head coach Rahul Dravid expressed confidence in the line-up, with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah returning to the setup. But India will be hoping that their lack of game time doesn't turn out to be a factor as they'll hope to hit the straps straightaway. With the lack of adequate ODIs in the lead-up to the World Cup, the game-time for all the members would be as much in focus as the game itself.

Pakistan, began their Asia Cup campaign on a confident note, riding on tons from Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed, and a clinical bowling performance, to register a big win. Armed with fit and firing personnel, they've already made sure that their performances are taken note of in these conditions. There were some concerns, though. Fakhar Zaman had another failure at the top of the order and the Pakistan batting department was kept in check by Nepal for the majority of the game before Babar and Iftikhar powered them to a sizable total. Shaheen Afridi wasn't in the best of rhythms despite picking up a couple of wickets, and he also needed some attention close to the boundary ropes, which Pakistan will be hoping doesn't turn out into something serious.

Pakistan vs India Match Details:

Match: Pakistan vs India, Match 3, Group A, Asia Cup 2023

Date and Time: September 2 2023, Saturday, 3 pm IST

Venue: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele

Pakistan vs India Pitch Report

The Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is a balanced track. The pacers may get some movement with the new ball in the initial phase of the match but the surface settles as the game progresses. Building partnerships will be the key here.

Pakistan vs India Weather Forecast

Heavy rain is predicted on Saturday in Pallekele, with temperatures expected to hover between 22 and 28 degrees Celsius.

Pitch and conditions: Rain threatens delayed start

The match will be played on a fresh pitch but if it behaves anything like the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh one, with help for both seamers and spinners, good luck to the batters. There's a forecast of rain, though, from early morning till mid-afternoon, which could delay the start.

So excited for this match!

Team News & Tactics:

Pakistan: Despite his recent struggles, the hosts of the tournament have given Zaman another go, perhaps considering his record against India in the past, as they named an unchanged XI.

Afridi will be Pakistan's key weapon against the Indian top order, considering Rohit and Virat Kohli's numbers against left-arm pace since 2021. Rohit averages 25.8 against this variety and has been dismissed five times while Kohli has fallen to left-arm pace thrice and averages 29. Kohli has also been dismissed seven times by a left-arm orthodox spinner and averages 14.57, while Ishan Kishan has been dismissed five times with an average of 29, which also makes Mohammad Nawaz an important option for Pakistan.

Probable XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

India: The Rohit Sharma-led side will welcome back Shreyas, who along with Kishan, will man the middle order. It could be a toss-up between Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel if India are looking for an extra batting option, with the latter probably ahead given the slow nature of the Pallekele pitch.

Kuldeep Yadav has good numbers against Babar and Zaman, having dismissed them two times apiece, with the two batters averaging 9 and 14 against him respectively.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Stats and trivia: Kohli, Babar on the cusp of milestones

• Kohli is 102 short of becoming the fifth batter to reach 13,000 ODI runs. If he gets there on Saturday, in his 266th innings, he will break Sachin Tendulkar's record (321 innings) of being the fastest to that milestone.
• Babar has 19 ODI hundreds. One more and he will level with Saeed Anwar for the most ODI hundreds for Pakistan.
• Imam-ul-Haq has a chance to become the second fastest to 3000 ODI runs. At the moment, he has 2889 runs in 63 innings. Shai Hope and Fakhar Zaman, who are currently the joint second-fastest, reached there in 67 innings.
• Ravindra Jadeja needs six wickets to become the seventh Indian with 200 ODI wickets, and the first Indian since Kapil Dev (3783 runs and 253 wickets) to complete the double of 2000 runs and 200 wickets.

Quotes

"They are a very good team, last few years they've done really well, whether it's at the T20 World Cup or in the 50-over format. No team becomes No. 1 just like that. Pakistan has worked hard a lot to get there, they look like a unit. It will be a good challenge to play against them."

Rohit Sharma on Pakistan

"Let's leave that debate [Babar vs Kohli] to people. Everybody has their point of view, and I don't want to comment on it. He is elder to me and I have been taught to respect elders no matter from which country they are. And I have learnt a lot from him. In 2019, during the World Cup, I spoke to him and it helped me a lot."

Babar Azam on his relation with Virat Kohli

In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Shaheen Shah Afridi

In the last few months, many, including Rohit, have said that India have a No. 4 problem. But with Shreyas Iyer returning, that is no longer true. In fact, in Iyer, India have one of the best No. 4s in world cricket. Since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Iyer has scored 805 runs at No. 4, at an average of 47.35 and a strike rate of 94.37. From the ten teams that will be participating at the 2023 ODI World Cup, no No. 4 has a better average, or more hundreds than Iyer's two. Last year, he also worked on his weakness against the short ball. India will just hope he makes a trouble-free return.

Did you know?

- Babar Azam hasn't gone past fifty even once against India in ODIs. He averages 31.60, with a highest of 48, and has scored 158 runs in five innings.

- In his last five innings against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma has gone past 90 three times. Rohit's last five ODI innings vs Pakistan: 91(119), 0(3), 52(39), 111*(119), 140(113).

- Since the 2019 World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja has scored 448 runs at an average of 49.77. But he has gone wicketless in 10 of the 22 innings he's bowled in this timeframe.

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Go India🇮🇳