India will be playing their arch-rivals
Pakistan in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022 tournament in
Dubai Cricket Stadium, Dubai today. Once again, both teams are part of the same group. They last faced each other at the same venue in September at Super 12 of T20 World Cup 2021. It was the second time that India faced a defeat against Pakistan in the T20 Internationals.
The
Asia Cup 2022 will be played majorly in Dubai International Cricket Stadium, which is also an adopted home ground of the Pakistan Cricket team. While both the teams are looking strong on paper, Pakistan will have an unfair advantage of being acquainted with the pitch.
India vs Pakistan: Previous encounter
The previous encounter was a nightmare for Indian Cricket fans as Babar Azam's men defeated India by 10 wickets in the first match of India's campaign for the T20 World Cup. Later on, India did manage to win a few matches but failed to qualify for the semi-finals of World T20.
While Kohli was the highest scorer for India in that match, Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan shared a record-breaking partnership of 152 runs to beat India by 10 wickets.
India vs Pakistan: Head to Head
Overall, India and Pakistan have played a total of 200 times, and have given each other the worst dreams. However, India has won 7 out of 9 times in T20 matches. Given below is a table to analyze both teams' performance.
Format | Pakistan won | India won | Draw/No result | Total |
T20 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9 |
ODI | 73 | 55 | 4 | 132 |
Test | 12 | 9 | 38 | 59 |
Total | 87 | 71 | 42 | 200 |
India vs Pakistan: Who has a better chance of winning? According to Google, India has a 68 percent winning chance while Pakistan has a 32 percent chance, citing different sources. However, there are multiple sources and predicting apps that predict the game based on previous performances.
India has a better chance of winning in the T20 format as they are ahead by 7 wins. Also, the absence of Shaheen Afridi will be a huge blow to Pakistan. The form of Indian middle-order batsmen can serve as a major factor in India's victory.
Despite not being the favourites, Pakistan Cricket Team has evolved as dominant in the T20 format. With the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman, they have a dangerous batting lineup as well.
Unpredictability is the most crucial factor in cricket. If Afghanistan can beat Sri Lanka, anything can happen today.
India v Pakistan: Squad at Asia Cup 2022
Rohit Sharma will be leading the India Cricket team in the Asia Cup 2022. India is highly confident to clinch the Asia Cup. On the other hand, Pakistan is also another contender with star bowlers Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan. Check out the squad of both teams.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Pakistan: Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain
India vs Pakistan: Players to watch out for
Hasan Ali (PAK): Known for his signature celebration, Hasan Ali would also try to reposition himself in today's Asia Cup match. In World T20 2021 encounter, he was expensive yet managed to send Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja to the pavilion.
Rohit Sharma (IND): Skipper Rohit Sharma will love to get his form back against Pakistan. The destructive opener has been one of India's best discoveries in limited-overs cricket.
Fakhar Zaman(PAK): The left-hand batsman is known for his classical cricketing shots and powerful slogs. Fakhar Zaman has been an exceptional top-order batsman and has been consistently good against India. Keeping the streak in mind, he will be interesting to watch.
Ravindra Jadeja (IND): Ravindra Jadeja has always been India's best hope in knockout matches. With his exceptional bowling and cameo batting skills, he can be the most threatening to any opponent.
Mohammad Rizwan (PAK): Rizwan has been in limelight after his mesmerizing innings against India in World T20 2021 match. The opening wicketkeeper-batsman would be a delight to watch.
Virat Kohli (IND): Pakistan has always been Kohli's favourite opponent. His batting average against Pakistan is 77.75 which is one of the highest.
Babar Azam (PAK): Babar Azam has been recognized as one of the best top-order batsmen in Pakistan. At the young age of 27, he has some exceptional records under his name.
KL Rahul (IND): The Indian opener is some of the best at his game with 2 centuries in Twenty 20 internationals. Averaging over 40 in ODI and T20 Internationals, KL Rahul could be India's hope for triumph in the Asia Cup 2022.
Rishab Pant (IND): Rishab Pant has been one of the best wicketkeeper batsmen India produced. He's in a red hot form and would be entertaining to watch.
Shadab Khan (PAK): The 23-year-old Pakistani leggie has been exceptional for his age. He is the vice-captain of Pakistan in ODIs and T2O internationals and is also good with the bat. Till now, he has bagged 73 wickets in T20 Internationals and would be a threat to Virat Kohli.
Suryakumar Yadav (IND): Suryakumar Yadav has emerged as one of the best middle-order batsmen for India in limited overs cricket. This cricketer can be the key to India's victory with his powerful shots and exceptional footwork.
Mohammad Hasnain (PAK): Mohammad Hasnain is replacing Shaheen Afridi in the upcoming tournament. The young bowler was in a terrific form in Big Bash League and will try his best to perform against heavyweights like India.
(Written by Zuhair Zaidi)