Asia Cup 2022: IND vs PAK Match Preview, Match 02

Asia Cup 2022: IND vs PAK Match Preview, Match 02. The world’s biggest game is on the cards on 28th August with India taking on Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. The second game of the Asia Cup 2022 will be a revenge time for India to heal the wounds from a 10-wicket defeat at the ICC World T20I in 2021.

The race is wide open with both leading pacers of India and Pakistan – Jasprit Bumrah & Shaheen Shah Afridi out of the Asia Cup 2022 due to injuries.  India are having a dream run in T20Is since their exit from the 2021 T20I World Cup. They have 19 wins in 23 T20Is played since ICC World T20 2021. They have managed this by giving opportunities to 27 players – most by any team this year.

The 7-time Asia Cup champions India won all 5 games in the last edition of the Asia Cup. They beat Bangladesh by 3 wickets in the finals to retain the title in the UAE. Pakistan has played just 1 T20I this year. But they won 3 out of the last four matches. They beat West Indies 3-0 at home.

Out of the last 5 matches in the Asia Cup, India has overpowered Pakistan 4 times. In the only T20I between these 5, India bowled out Pakistan on 83 and won the game by 5 wickets. Hardik Pandya took 3 wickets for 8 in 3.3 overs followed by MOM Virat Kohli’s 49 runs.

Pakistan has 2 Asia Cup titles and their last trophy came back in 2012. In the last 5 T20Is between these two, India has 4 wins. But Pakistan made sure to beat them in the T20I World Cup by 10 wickets in the previous game.

Asia Cup 2022: IND vs PAK Match Preview, Match 02

After playing 17 players in 21 T20Is played this year, India is finally tapering off the mix-and-match strategy in the Asia Cup to give their key players a decent run of games before the 2022 T20I World Cup.

Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back after getting rested for the Zimbabwe tour. India tried 5 openers with Rohit Sharma in the past few matches. But KL Rahul’s inclusion will end the possibility of them opening with Rohit Sharma in Asia Cup 2022.

Rohit Sharma has scored 290 runs in 13 T20Is this year at a strike rate of 140.09. KL Rahul hasn’t played a T20I this year. Virat Kohli who missed 17 of the 21 T20Is this year has scored just 81 runs at an average of 20.25 and a strike rate of 128.57. Virat Kohli has 311 runs in 7 T20Is played against Pakistan.

Pakistan’s major problem will be Suryakumar Yadav batting at number 4. The world number 2 T20I batter has scored 428 runs in 12 innings this year at a strike rate of 189.38. Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Dinesh Karthik in the middle are going to create havoc. A big score might be possible with Shaheen Shah Afridi ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be leading the Indian pace attack with Avesh Khan or Arshdeep Singh in absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is India’s leading wicket-taker this year with 10 wickets at an average of 17.80. Yuzvendra Chahal will take the spin department after making a successful comeback this year.

India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is has 15 wickets in 12 games this year. Arshdeep Singh in the death overs has been the most economical. It will be interesting to see if India goes with Ravindra Jadeja over Dinesh Karthik in Asia Cup 2022.

India’s other players in the squad for the Asia Cup 2022 tournament include Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravi Bishnoi. India also named three standby players for the tournament – Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, and Deepak Chahar (the latter was replaced by Kuldeep Sen). Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Hooda, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravi Bishnoi are four players who don’t feature in the BCCI’s posts.

Asia Cup 2022: India Predicted Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan.

Pakistan will be ready to take the challenge with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan opening the innings. The duo chased 152 runs against India in the T20 World Cup last year at the same venue. Rizwan has been phenomenal since the last year. The opener has scored 1326 runs in 26 innings at an average of 73.66 including a century and 12 half-centuries. On the other hand, Babar Azam who is the world’s number one T20 Batsman has 939 runs in the same innings with 1 century and 9 half-centuries.

Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz will have a great burden on their shoulder in case the openers fail to score. But the trio is averaging below 23 since last year. Mohammad Nawaz’s strike rate has been above 150 in the last 11 innings but he is yet to score big. All-rounder Shadab Khan will be the last key of the middle-order. Shadab Khan has 20 wickets since the last year at an average of 19.60.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named Hasan Ali in Pakistan’s squad for the 2022 T20 Asia Cup as a replacement for Mohammad Wasim who complained of back pain during a training session at the ICC Academy, Dubai, and was sent for an MRI scan. As per Mohammad Wasim’s MRI report, the pacer has sustained a side strain and now has been ruled out of the tournament.

Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani.