Hyderabad: The much-anticipated match of 2023 will take place at Pallekele in Sri Lanka when arch-rivals India and Pakistan will square off in their Asia Cup game here on Saturday. The Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue would be eager to start their Asia Cup campaign with a win but they face the hurdle of an inform rival skipper Babar Azam and the pace trio led by left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi.
The ODI contest that will begin at 3 p.m. at the Pallekele International Stadium will be a primary contest between India's top order and Pakistani pacers. A lot will depend on skipper Rohit Sharma, who has three ODI double-hundreds to his name. The right-handed batter from Mumbai can take any good attack to task and Pakistan's won't be an exception.
Having a range of shots at his perusal, including his trademark pull shot, Rohit Sharma would be keen to lead from the front. However, India possesses several big match winners like the charismatic former skipper Virat Kohli and swashbuckling all-rounder Hardik Pandya and their role too would be crucial. The Baroda allrounder Pandya can also chip in with the ball and the skipper could bank on him to provide a breakthrough.
India is most likely to open with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. It remains to be seen whether Virat Kohli comes one down or bats at the number 4 spot. The marquee clash will be witnessed by a full house and as far as India's bowling is concerned, it is bolstered the return of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah, who led the victorious Indian team on their brief tour of Ireland, showed that he was back in the groove. But on Saturday, he faces an uphill task as he would be taking on an in-form Babar Azam.
The Pakistan skipper is in the form of his life and started the Asia Cup with a century against minnows Nepal. Thus, for India, Babar Azam would be the key wicket. India's bowling combination would depend on the surface and it would be interesting to see whether coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma decided to go with three spinners or chose to go with two frontline pacers and two spinners with Hardik Pandya as a fast bowling allrounder.
For Pakistan, apart from Babar Azam, they would bank on their pace trio, as the Indian batters are slightly vulnerable against the pace attack. It would be a contest between Shaheen Afridi's inswingers and the Indian batters. On the eve of the match, skipper Rohit Sharma made it clear that his team would need to bank on their experience against Shaheen and company. Babar Azam also said that Pakistan would also be banking on their experience of playing in similar conditions to do well against the Men in Blue.
For the record, Pakistan has the edge over India in the 50-over format, having won 73 of the total 132 ODI games between the two nations. India has won only 55 games with four games producing no result. While India would be keen to add a memorable victory to its list which comprises 2003 Centurion, 1996 Bengaluru, and 2011 Mohali and start the campaign on a winning note, Pakistan would be keen to record their second successive win of the tournament.
There is 70 per cent rain predicted in Pallekele on Saturday, so it remains to be seen whether the rains play a spoilsport or there is a nail-biting contest on the cards. India and Pakistan are likely to feature in three more games in 2023, including a World Cup encounter in Ahmedabad and thus this game would help the players in gaining experience. The two teams last played an ODI four years two months ago. In this period the two Asian giants have only squared off in T20 International.
