Focus on India’s middle order to face confident Pakistan amid threat of rain

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Pallekele (Sri Lanka). In the serene atmosphere of Sri Lanka, fans across the world will witness another chapter being added to the India-Pakistan rivalry when the two neighbors clash in a Group A match of the Asia Cup at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

In India’s opening match of the Asia Cup, wicketkeeper-batsman K.L. Will hit the ground without Rahul. Rahul has been out of action since May 1 this year due to an injury related to his right thigh. Although they have a reserve player in Sanju Samson, it looks like Ishan Kishan may bat in the middle order to fill in for Rahul’s absence.

Although Kishan scored three consecutive half-centuries in ODIs against the West Indies in July, the top three have long been set by Shubman Gill, skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Especially with the men’s ODI World Cup team selection deadline on September 5, the Indian team will not tinker with the top three to fit Kishan in for the stop-gap period.

Also, Kishan brings in a left-handed batsman in the middle order, which India has missed and he could be sandwiched between right-handers Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav. If Kishan bats in the middle order, he will need to improve on his average of just 21.2 at No.4 and his struggles against spinners as well as his ability to rotate the strike.

Amid middle-order headaches, India will be delighted that Iyer is back in the national team after recovering from a nagging back injury that required surgery and rehabilitation. His return has eased India’s worries at No.4, with Iyer’s ability to use his feet and dominate the spinners commanding the team’s batting in the middle overs.

India will be eager to see how Suryakumar and all-rounder Hardik Pandya provide the finishing kick with the bat. On the bowling front, the long-awaited return of Jasprit Bumrah and the examination of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan will be keenly watched.

India will have to see who among Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and the legendary Krishna will join Bumrah to lead with the pace. With regards to the composition of their spin attack, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will be the leading spinners but if conditions favor more spin, Akshar Patel could also come into play.

There is no doubt that India’s batting will be tested to a great extent by Pakistan’s attacking pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf in the early part of their innings. In their own unique ways, the trio provide fire, pace and variety to trouble the batsmen, with the leg-spin and left-arm spin duo of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz complementing them.

With the bat, Azam scored his 19th ODI century in the Asia Cup opener against Nepal in difficult conditions in Multan and was ably supported by power-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed’s maiden international century. Pakistan would be hoping that their other batsmen like Rizwan, Imam and Fakhar Zaman find their rhythm against India’s bowlers.

Fans are elated to see India and Pakistan face-off in an ODI for the first time since the 2019 World Cup clash in Manchester. Although India have won seven of their last 10 ODIs against Pakistan, rain in Pallekele could play spoilsport.

According to Weather.com, there is an 84 percent chance of thunderstorms and an 80 percent chance of rain on Saturday, putting the match in serious doubt. A huge crowd is expected to throng the stadium for the high-octane India-Pakistan encounter. It is expected that another chapter will be added to their rivalry, provided the rains stay away.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (unavailable for first two matches), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel , Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Famous Krishna and Sanju Samson (Travelling Reserve).

Pakistan: Babar Azam (Captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel and Tayyab Tahir (Travelling Reserve).

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