Tag: Pakistan vs India

KARACHI: England’s famous fan page Barmy Army was brutally trolled by Pakistan-India fans for posting a controversial tweet and compared the rivalry between both sides with the Ashes.

Cricket fever was on a high on Sunday as the two bitter rivals – India and Pakistan – came face to face again in a span of one week.

Pakistan clinched a five-wicket thrilling victory over India in the Super Fours of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 to avenge their Group A defeat.

Earlier on August 28, India claimed an alike victory over Pakistan to start their Asia Cup on a high. The Group A match too went down to the wire before India sealed a thrilling five-wicket victory.

While many cricket enthusiasts and ex-players expressed their pleasure at the exciting matches between the two teams, England’s Barmy Army infuriated supporters on both sides by comparing the Pakistan-India rivalry with the Ashes.

Following the most-anticipated clash, England’s Barmy Army wrote, “Ashes > India vs Pakistan anyway,” a comment that enraged fans from both countries.

Ashes > India vs Pakistan anyway

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) September 4, 2022

 

Here’s how India and Pakistan fans reacted to the tweet:

Sorry but wrong

— Talal Mazhar (@dummystranger) September 4, 2022

The fact that we you have to tweet this , we understand 🤣

— Arun B (@realarun82) September 4, 2022

A Pakistan fan then took a hilarious dig at England’s Barmy Army and termed the Karachi-Lahore rivalry bigger than the Ashes.

Lahore qalander Vs Karachi kings >>>ashes

— Irfan Khan 👑 (@Nadankhan56) September 4, 2022

A user replied to Barmy Army’s tweet and thanked the English fan page for uniting the Pakistan-India fans.

https://twitter.com/ch3rryw8n3/status/1566626136620437504

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer also slammed Barmy Army for the analogy. Referring to England’s humiliating 0-5 defeat in the Ashes.

“If I was an England fan, with the Ashes record Eng has, I’d downplay the Ashes if anything,” Jaffer wrote.

If I was an England fan, with the Ashes record Eng has, I'd downplay the Ashes if anything 😅 #INDvPAK https://t.co/zqFbIyt2lv

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) September 5, 2022

READ: Mohammad Rizwan to undergo a ‘precautionary’ MRI today 

DUBAI: Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz shone in a tense run chase before Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah bolstered the men in green to avenge their group match defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup 2022 Super Fours.

Set to chase 182, Pakistan steered over the line on the second-last delivery of the match as Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh failed to defend seven runs.

The Green Shirts had a dismal start to their run chase as their key batter Babar Azam perished cheaply for 14 in the fourth over.

Following his departure, Rizwan then joined hands with left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman and added 41 runs for the second wicket before the latter perished after scoring a snail-paced 15 off 18 deliveries.

Following the slump, all-rounder Nawaz, who was promoted in the batting order changed the dynamics of the game with a blistering knock of 42 runs off a mere 20 deliveries, laced with six boundaries and two sixes.

The duo of Rizwan and Nawaz added a valuable 73 runs for the third wicket in accordance with the mounting run rate. Nawaz, however, fell victim to a slower ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 16th over.

In the next over, Rizwan also became the victim of a slower delivery from the struggling Indian pacer Hardik Pandya. The right-handed batter top-scored for the side with 71 off 51 deliveries, laced with six boundaries and two sixes.

Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali then stood up for their team and sailed the ball all over the ground to push India on the back foot. The pair appeared solid and were looking to run away with the victory as Pakistan needed just seven off the last over.

Asif’s dismissal off Arshdeep on the fourth delivery of the final over, however, gave a thrilling late twist to the match and the right-handed batter walked back sorrowly despite scoring a blistering 16 off eight deliveries, laced with two sixes and a boundary.

The twist and India’s comeback into the game, however, was denied by Iftikhar Ahmed, who slammed a full-toss over the bowler’s head to seal a thrilling opening victory for Pakistan in the Super Fours.

Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Pandya, Bhuvneshwar, and Arsheep all managed to pick one wicket apiece.

India, after being put into bat first by Pakistan captain Babar Azam, were off to a flying start as they added 54 runs for the first wicket in just six overs.

The duo appeared solid and were scoring at a rapid pace before Haris Rauf struck in his second over to hand Pakistan a much-needed breakthrough in the form of KL Rahul, who departed after scoring 28 off 20 deliveries, laced with a boundary and two sixes.

Following his departure, Rohit’s stay at the crease also remained brief as he perished in the next over to Shadab Khan, who struck on the first delivery of his brilliant spell. The right-handed batter also scored 20 off 16 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and two sixes.

India’s veteran batter Virat then took the responsibility and held his ground while the rest of the batters failed to score significantly with all-rounder Deepak Hooda contributing the most with his brief knock of 16 runs.

Pakistan bowlers did well to halt India’s march into the game and restricted the defending champions to 181/7 in 20 overs.

Virat top-scored for the side with a magnificent knock of 60 off a mere 44 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and a six.

Shadab was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan as he returned with brilliant bowling figures of 2/31, while Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, and Haris struck out a batter each.

DUBAI: Pakistan wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz shone in a tense run chase before Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah bolstered the men in green to avenge their group match defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup 2022 Super Fours.

PAK 182-4 (19.5 Overs)

Arshdeep to bowl the final over

PAK 175-4 (19 Overs)

Bhuvneshwar comes to bowl his last

PAK 156-4 (18 Overs)

Bishnoi comes to bowl his last

PAK 148-4 (17 Overs)

Pandya comes to bowl his last

PAK 139-3 (16 Overs)

15.3: Short of length around off, rolled his fingers over it. Nawaz looks to go over long-off but it bounces a little extra and Hooda pouches it calmly at the boundary.

Bhuvneshwar replaces Pandya

PAK 135-2 (15 Overs)

Chahal comes back

PAK 119-2 (14 Overs)

Pandya comes back into the attack

PAK 107-2 (13 Overs)

Arshdeep comes back into the attack

PAK 96-2 (12 Overs)

Bishnoi replaces Pandya

PAK 86-2 (11 Overs)

Chahal comes again

PAK 76-2 (10 Overs)

Pandya replaces Bishnoi

PAK 67-2 (9 Overs)

Chahal continues

PAK 57-1 (8 Overs)

Bishnoi replaces Arshdeep

PAK 51-1 (7 Overs)

Yuzvendra Chahal replaces Pandya

PAK 44-1 (6 Overs)

Arshdeep replaces Bishnoi

PAK 36-1 (5 Overs)

Hardik Pandya comes to bowl his first

PAK 22-1 (4 Overs)

3.4: Tried to jab it through midwicket, but ends up chipping it straight to the man!

Ravi Bishnoi comes to bowl his first

PAK 19-0 (3 Overs)

Bhuvneshwar continues

PAK 11-0 (2 Overs)

Arshdeep Singh to bowl from the other end

PAK 9-0 (1 Over)

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan come out to bat for Pakistan. Bhuvneshwar Kumar to lead the bowling attack.

PAKISTAN vs INDIA (2nd INNING)

Virat Kohli led the way for India with an astonishing knock of 60 runs after the openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul laid a solid foundation but Pakistan bowlers displayed a combined effort to reduce India to 181/7 in the high-octane clash Super 4s clash of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

IND 181-7 (20 Overs)

Haris to bowl the final over

IND 171-6 (19 Overs)

Naseem comes to bowl his last

IND 164-5 (18 Overs)

Hasnain replaces Shadab

IND 148-5 (17 Overs)

Haris replaces Hasnain

IND 140-5 (16 Overs)

Shadab comes to bowl his last

IND 135-5 (15 Overs)

Hasnain replaces Naseem

IND 126-4 (14 Overs)

13.5: Another googly from Shadab but this time he bowled it on a length outside leg. Pant went for the reverse sweep but ended up mistiming it straight to the fielder.

Shadab comes back

IND 118-3 (13 Overs)

Naseem comes back into the attack

IND 105-3 (12 Overs)

Nawaz comes to bowl his last

IND 101-3 (11 Overs)

Hasnain replaces Shadab

IND 93-3 (10 Overs)

5.4: Yadav made no attempt to keep that down, and the top edge meant it was straight down Asif Ali’s throat.

Nawaz comes again

IND 88-2 (9 Overs)

Shadab continues

IND 79-2 (8 Overs)

Nawaz replaces Haris

IND 71-2 (7 Overs)

6.1: Shadab strikes off the first ball. Got to the pitch but got neither the power nor the elevation, and Mohammad Nawaz takes a smart catch.

Shadab Khan replaces Nawaz

IND 62-1 (6 Overs)

5.1: It was up in the air for an aeon and Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah bumped into each other and nearly made a hash of it. Khushdil just about clings on – very good catch, really. Sharma’s blitz comes to a close.

Haris continues

IND 54-0 (5 Overs)

Mohammad Nawaz replaces Naseem

IND 46-0 (4 Overs)

Haris Rauf replaces Hasnain

IND 34-0 (3 Overs)

Naseem continues

IND 20-0 (2 Overs)

Hasnain comes to bowl from the other end

IND 11-0 (1 Over)

KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma come out to bat for India. Naseem Shah to open the bowling attack for Pakistan.

PAKISTAN vs INDIA (1st INNING)

DUBAI: Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first in the high-voltage clash against the arch-rivals India in the Super Fours of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-10, India-8, Pakistan-2

DUBAI: Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first in the high-voltage clash against the arch-rivals India in the Super Fours clash of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan make one change to their line-up as Mohammad Hasnain comes in for Shahnawaz Dahani, while India make three changes as Hardik Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Hooda come in for wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik, injured Ravindra Jadeja and Avesh Khan respectively.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-10, India-8, Pakistan-2

DUBAI: Cricket fever has reached its zenith as the two arch-rivals and Asia giants India and Pakistan are set to lock horns once again in a span of one week in the high-octane clash of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 Super Fours.

In less than a week, the arch-rivals will meet again, and they could do so two more times in the current year.

The two sides last met in the Group A fixture of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 when India edged past Pakistan by five wickets in a final-over thriller.

All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya played the pivotal role in the much-needed victory for the defending champions as the duo put on a match-defining 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

India, however, will be missing the services of their last match’s top-scorer against arch-rivals Pakistan as Jadeja has been ruled out of the continental event with a knee injury. Whereas, their right-arm pacer Avesh Khan will also miss the anticipated clash due to fever.

The Green Shirts, however, who seek revenge to their last week’s bitter defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals India, sustained an alike setback as their young right-arm pacer Shahnawaz Dahani has been sidelined from the all-important clash with a side strain.

Despite Dahani’s unavailability, Pakistan still have two right-arm pacers – Mohammad Hasnain and Hasan Ali, who can fill into the Playing XI as suitable replacement.

Following the injuries scare, both sides will now be heavily relying on their top-order despite Babar Azam being out of touch, having managed to amass 19 in two matches.

On the other side, Pakistan will be hoping that their spin department works flawlessly and will be overjoyed if Naseem Shah manages to match his performance from the previous time the two Asian powerhouses met.

Before taking the field in a much-anticipated clash India are currently unbeaten in the tournament with two victories in two matches against Pakistan and Hong Kong respectively.

Pakistan, however, managed to win one game out of their two group fixtures against Hong Kong as they thrashed the associate side by a massive margin of 155 runs. The resounding victory might play a morale booster for the Green Shirts.
[totalpoll id=”240608″]

Apart from all these factors, another component that holds importance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the toss and due factor. It is often said the side winning the toss in UAE is more likely to win the match as well and the stats too proved it right from the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-10, India-8, Pakistan-2

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has fined the arch-rivals India and Pakistan for the slow-over rate in the much-anticipated clash of the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday.

According to the details, both teams have been fined 40 percent of their match fees following the breaching of Article 2.22.

Jeff Crowe of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees assessed the penalties after determining that the teams had fallen two overs short of their respective targets after taking time restrictions into account.

As a result, the players are penalised 20% of their match fees for each over their team fails to bowl within the permitted time under the minimum over-rate provisions of Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.

Both captains – Babar and Rohit, however, accepted the proposed sanctions and as a result, the need for the formal hearing was waived off.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan were also left short of one fielder in the last three overs of the match, which made it tough for the Green Shirts to defend 148 runs against their arch-rivals India.

READ: Saim stars as Sindh beat Northern to secure second win in National T20 Cup 

DUBAI: Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar shone with the ball with four wickets before all-rounder Hardik Pandya sailed India over the line in a final over thriller against Pakistan with a gritty unbeaten knock in the high-octane clash of Asia Cup 2022.

Pakistan bowlers did extremely well to make it hard for India to chase down 148 in 20 overs but Pandya held his nerves calm as he slammed a short delivery from Mohammad Nawaz to power India to claim their first win in the ongoing tournament.

The men in blue were off to a dismal start to their run chase as debutant Naseem Shah castled KL Rahul for a golden duck in the first over.

The experienced pair of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma then took the responsibility and anchored India with an important 49-run partnership for the second wicket.

Kohli was looking solid amid the stand, while Rohit was struggling to score at a quick pace and in the end, fell victim to Pakistan’s pick among the bowlers, Nawaz. He scored a mere 12 off 18 deliveries.

The brilliant Nawaz then turned the game on its head in his next over as he removed the danger man Kohli for 35 on the first delivery as Pakistan reduced India to 53/3 in the 10th over.

World No.2 Suryakumar Yadav had a forgetful outing with the bat as he scored a snail-paced 18 before Naseem castled him in the 15th over; forcing India to further slip at 89/4.

India’s hero of the match Pandya then joined Jadeja at the crease and put on a match-defining partnership for the fifth wicket. The duo added valuable 52 runs in accordance with the mounting required run rate.

Jadeja’s dismissal off Nawaz on the first delivery of the final over gave a thrilling late twist to the match and walked back sorrowly despite top-scoring for the side with 35 off 29 deliveries, laced with two sixes and as many boundaries.

The twist and Pakistan’s comeback into the game, however, was cut short on the fourth delivery as Pandya slammed a shorter length delivery from Nawaz over the long-on boundary to seal a thrilling opening victory for the defending champions.

Nawaz led the bowling attack for Pakistan with three wickets, while Naseem remained impressive with his two on debut.

At the toss, India invited Pakistan to bat first in the most-talked clash of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

After being put into bat first, Pakistan were off to the worst possible start, as the side lost their key batter, Babar Azam, cheaply for 10 amid a slow start.

Left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman then put on a brief partnership with Mohammad Rizwan and took Pakistan close to the fifty at the brink of the powerplay before the former fell victim to a short ball for 10.

Rizwan then joined hands with Iftikhar Ahmed and started the recovery with a 45-run partnership for the third wicket. Iftikhar was looking solid and was scoring at a quick pace before another short ball did the trick for India and he walked back to the pavilion after scoring 28.

Following his departure, Rizwan’s stay also remained brief as he too perished courtesy of a short ball from Pandya in the 15th over. He remained the top-scorer for his side with 43 off 42 balls, laced with four boundaries and a six.

The Green Shirts then began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and were soon slipped to 128/9 in the 19th over.

Shahnawaz Dahani’s quickfire cameo of 16 runs off just six deliveries, however, bolstered the side to amass 147 before being bundled out in the final over.

Bhuvneshwar led the bowling attack for India with four wickets, while Pandya followed back with three. Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, bagged two wickets.

Hardik Pandya displayed an all-round performance and Ravindra Jadeja shone with a brilliant 35 to power India seal a final-over thriller against Pakistan in their opening match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

IND 148-5 (19.4 Overs)

Nawaz to bowl the final over

IND 141-4 (19 Overs)

Haris comes to bowl the 19th

IND 127-4 (18 Overs)

Naseem comes to bowl his last

IND 116-4 (17 Overs)

Babar calls Haris back into the attack

IND 106-4 (16 Overs)

Dahani comes to bowl his last

IND 97-4 (15 Overs)

14.2: Back of a length and zipping in from over the wicket at 142ks, it looked a lot quicker than that, though. Surya clears his front leg, slog and misses the ball altogether. Naseem hits his target and delivers the big breakthrough for Pakistan.

Naseem comes back

IND 89-3 (14 Overs)

Babar brings Dahani into the attack

IND 83-3 (13 Overs)

Shadab comes to bowl his last

IND 77-3 (12 Overs)

Nawaz continues

IND 69-3 (11 Overs)

Shadab comes again

IND 62-3 (10 Overs)

9.1: Kohli sends it straight down long-off’s throat. That was a bit of a gift to Iftikhar, who takes the simplest of chances. He struck it through the line, but didn’t get the distance on it, and it almost felt like catching practice for the fielder. Huge moment in the game.

Nawaz continues

IND 53-2 (9 Overs)

Shadab continues

IND 50-2 (8 Overs)

7.6: Rohit came down the ground to try and smash this through the line over mid-off, but he miscues it to long-off, where Iftikhar holds on to it

Mohammad Nawaz replaces Haris

IND 41-1 (7 Overs)

Shadab Khan comes into the attack

IND 38-1 (6 Overs)

Haris continues

IND 29-1 (5 Overs)

Dahani replaces Naseem

IND 23-1 (4 Overs)

Haris Rauf replaces Dahani

IND 15-1 (3 Overs)

Naseem continues

IND 10-1 (2 Overs)

Shahnawaz Dahani to bowl from the other end

IND 3-1 (1 Over)

0.2: Inside edge dragged onto the stumps, and Rahul departs first ball! Naseem strikes on his second ball, and Pakistan have their perfect start!

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul come out to bat for India. Naseem Shah to lead the bowling attack for Pakistan.

PAKISTAN vs INDIA (2nd INNING)

Indian pacers utilized the short pitch deliveries to dismantle Pakistan batting line-up for 147 despite a gritty knock from Mohammad Rizwan in the high-octane clash of Asia Cup 2022.

PAK 147-10 (20 Overs)

Arshdeep to bowl the final over

PAK 136-9 (19 Overs)

18.3: Full again from Bhuvneshwar, skids back in to ping the pad on the knee-roll. Not bat involved. Ball-tracking suggests it would have shaved the top of the stumps.

18.2: Bhuvneshwar spins around for an lbw appeal and the finger goes up. Shadab challenges the on-field out decision. Very full and ducks back in to catch the batter on the crease.

Bhuvneshwar comes to bowl his last

PAK 124-7 (18 Overs)

Avesh comes back

PAK 114-6 (17 Overs)

16.3: Slower leg cutter from Bhuvneshwar. Asif lofts in the air, does not get enough elevation. Picks out Surya at the boundary.

Bhuvneshwar comes back into the attack

PAK 111-5 (16 Overs)

Chahal comes to bowl his last

PAK 103-5 (15 Overs)

14.3: Five short balls, five wickets for India. This is Pandya’s third. Dug in short and angling across off from over the wicket. Shah leaps off his feet and swishes it straight to Jadeja at sweeper cover. Shah mistimes a cut and holes out This is turning out to be a terrific spell from Pandya.

14.1: Another short ball. Another wicket for India. Hardik bounces out another batter. Banged in short and keeps ducking in with the angle from over the wicket. Rizwan looks away and is surprised by the bounce. He goes low, aims to ramp half-heartedly and ends up guiding this 141kph delivery into the hands of Avesh at deep third.

PAK 96-3 (14 Overs)

Avesh comes back

PAK 90-3 (13 Overs)

12.1: Lifter outside off, 142ks, rushes Ahmed into a hook. He weakly flaps at the ball and top-edges it behind to DK who leaps and grabs the ball.

Pandya comes back into the attack

PAK 87-2 (12 Overs)

Chahal comes again

PAK 76-2 (11 Overs)

Jadeja continues

PAK 68-2 (10 Overs)

Chahal continues

PAK 63-2 (9 Overs)

Ravindra Jadeja comes to bowl his first

PAK 59-2 (8 Overs)

Yuzvendra Chahal comes into the attack

PAK 51-2 (7 Overs)

Hardik continues

PAK 43-2 (6 Overs)

5.5: The extra bounce beat him, or so it seemed, but it’s taken the faintest of nicks! The Indian players didn’t appeal much, but Fakhar just walked off. Not sure the umpire even raised the finger.

Avesh Khan replaces Arshdeep

PAK 30-1 (5 Overs)

Hardik Pandya comes into the attack

PAK 23-1 (4 Overs)

Arshdeep continues

PAK 19-1 (3 Overs)

2.4: Bouncer from Kumar and it got big on Babar as he looked to pull it to square leg.

Bhuvneshwar continues

PAK 14-0 (2 Overs)

Arshdeep to bowl from the other end

PAK 6-0 (1 Over)

Babar and Rizwan come out to bat for Pakistan. Bhuvneshwar to bowl the first over.

PAKISTAN vs INDIA (1st INNING)

DUBAI: India won the toss and elected to field first in the high-voltage clash against the arch-rivals Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh

DUBAI: India won the toss and elected to field first in the high-voltage clash against the arch-rivals Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani

India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh

KARACHI: With only a few hours left before the action begins at the glittering Dubai International Stadium for one of the biggest rivalries, cricket fever reaches its zenith as the two Asian giants and arch-rivals Pakistan and India are set to lock horns today in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

In less than a year, the arch-rivals will meet again, and they could do so three more times in the current year.

The two sides last met in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 when Pakistan thrashed their arch-rivals India by a massive margin of 10 wickets to claim their maiden triumph over the Men in Blue in a world cup game.

The humiliating defeat at the hands of Pakistan and then New Zealand resulted in halting India’s chances to secure a semi-final berth in the tournament.

The Men in Blue, therefore, will now be seeking to avenge their bitter defeat.

India, however, were jolted by an injury scare ahead of Asia Cup 2022 as their ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the continental event. Whereas, Pakistan also suffered an alike setback in the form of left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi ruling out due to a knee injury.

The Green Shirts then sustained another blow to their bowling department as Mohammad Wasim Jr also ruled out with an injury. His ouster left Pakistan with a relatively inexperienced fast bowling attack out of which will be a debutant Naseem Shah in a high-voltage clash. The spin attack will be the key point for the side that features Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz.

Despite Bumrah’s unavailability, India still have a rather strong attack, having the likes of Bhuveneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Both sides will be heavily relying on their top-order. Pakistan on the trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Fakhar Zaman. Whereas, India will be hoping for their top four – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav – to fire.

Before taking the field in a much-anticipated clash India played 22 T20Is in the ongoing year and lost only four out of them. The top-ranked T20 side did not lose any series in the same period.

Pakistan, on the other hand, played only one T20I in 2022, that was against Australia back in April and lost by three wickets.
[totalpoll id=”240412″]

Apart from all these factors, another component that holds importance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the toss and due factor. It is often said the side winning the toss in UAE is more likely to win the match as well and the stats too, proved it right last time round in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Asia Cup: Matches-14, India-8, Pakistan-5, NR-1