This clash holds the potential to shape the tournament's outcome, with Pakistan having the upper hand so far, but India's selection challenges could be a good headache to have.
Just a week after a rain-marred clash, the long-awaited showdown between arch-rivals Pakistan and India is set to unfold in the third match of the Super Four round of the 2023 Asia Cup at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium, provided the weather cooperates. Pakistan, having already played one game in this round, looks formidable, with their pace bowling trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf in scintillating form.
Naseem overcame an injury scare to put up a formidable performance. Pakistan’s journey began with a dominant win over Nepal, where captain Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed scored centuries, followed by a commanding display by their bowlers. Despite the rain-interrupted match against India, Pakistan was the first team to secure a spot in the Super Four stage. India, on the other hand, faced a stern test against Pakistan’s left-arm pacers, with Shaheen Afridi dismissing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya rallied India, but rain had the final say.
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India then comfortably defeated Nepal. Jasprit Bumrah is back after missing the Nepal game for the birth of his child, and KL Rahul is fit and ready. However, India faces a selection conundrum, with the in-form Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer also in contention. This clash holds the potential to shape the tournament’s outcome, with Pakistan having the upper hand so far, but India’s selection challenges could be a good headache to have.
Pitch and conditions
All eyes will be on the skies, as has been the case throughout this tournament. The pitch that was used for the LPL final at the Premadasa was fairly two-paced and the one for the Afghanistan-Pakistan ODI in late August wasn’t particularly batting-friendly either. There could be some juice for both seamers and spinners on Sunday too.
Probable Playing XIs
India (Probable XI): 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Rohit Sharma (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan (Probable XI): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Agha Salman, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Haris Rauf
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