Asia Cup, India vs Pakistan: Rohit Sharma elects to field
The clash of the two heavyweights is upon us. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to lock horns in the second match of the 2022 Asia Cup. India will look to avenge the 10-wicket defeat in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, Pakistan have a few match-winners in their arsenal. Indian captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to field.
Here are the two teams
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh. Pakistan (Playing XI): Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani.
India pick DK over Rishabh Pant!
In an interesting move, India have gone with Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant. The former has been in sublime form as a finisher. Meanwhile, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh accompany Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the pace attack. On the other hand, right-arm seamer Naseem Shah makes his T20I debut for Pakistan. Pakistan miss the services of injured Shaheen Afridi.
Pitch report, timing, and TV listing
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai will host the affair. The wicket will offer plenty of assistance to both batters and bowlers. Anything around 155-165 could be a competitive score. Chasing sides have won five of the last seven T20Is played here. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network (7:30 PM IST) and live-streamed on the Hotstar app (paid subscription).
H2H (Asia Cup): India 8-5 Pakistan
India have a win-loss record of 8-5 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup (ODIs and T20Is combined). The Men in Blue are unbeaten against them in the last three Asia Cup matches. In T20Is, India own a 7-2 lead over the Men in Green.
Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets in 2021 T20 WC
In 2021, India suffered their first-ever defeat to Pakistan in World Cups. Pakistan won the T20 World Cup group fixture by 10 wickets, the first side to defeat India by this margin in the tournament. Kohli was the lone warrior for India in the match, having scored 57 off 49 balls. India managed just 151/7 (20 overs), a total Pakistan chased comfortably.
A massive achievement for Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli marks his 100th T20I appearance. He has become just the second cricketer to feature in 100 matches in each of the three formats. Earlier, former New Zealand batter Ross Taylor was the only player with this record. Kohli is one of the few batters who excelled in all three formats simultaneously. He has over 3,000 runs in T20I cricket.
Asia Cup: India enter as defending champions
India are the most successful side in the Asia Cup in terms of titles. They have won the tournament seven times (1984, 1988, 1990/91, 1995, 2010, 2016, and 2018). India were crowned champions of the only Asia Cup edition that was played in T20 format (2016). The Men in Blue led by former Indian captain MS Dhoni were unbeaten in that tournament.
