Asia Cup 2023: India-Pakistan ODI match will be held after 4 years
Team India will start its campaign in Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan on Saturday. The match will be held at Kandy Stadium in Sri Lanka. Both the teams are facing each other in ODI format after four years. Before this, their last encounter in 50-50 over cricket was in the 2019 World Cup.
Bhavika Nandwana
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New Delhi : Team India will start its campaign in Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan on Saturday. The match will be held at Kandy Stadium in Sri Lanka. Both the teams are facing each other in ODI format after four years. Before this, their last encounter in 50-50 over cricket was in the 2019 World Cup.
In this story we will see the squads of both the teams and also learn about the strengths and weaknesses of both the teams. First of all let's know about Team India.
If the top order remains intact then no opposition team is big.
The Indian team has become the champion of Asia Cup a maximum of seven times. Players like KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah have become part of the team after returning from injury. Current captain Rohit Sharma has already won the ODI Asia Cup title for the team in 2018.
Top-3 Strength
Team in excellent form: India played 57 ODIs since the 2019 ODI World Cup. The team got 34 wins, which is the highest among all the teams. The team has also defeated West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand in ODI series in the past.
Strong batting order: Along with players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, experienced Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have also returned to the team. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are providing depth in batting in the lower order.
Variety in bowling: With the return of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami are in top class form at the moment. Shardul Thakur, the highest wicket taker after the 2019 World Cup, is also a part of the team. Along with Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav is also strengthening the spin department. The team also has a third spinner in the form of Axar Patel. On the spin front, the Indian team is looking better than Pakistan.
top-3 weekend
Form of injured players: Iyer, Rahul and Bumrah are returning after injury. Bumrah showed signs of good form by taking 4 wickets in the Ireland series, but the form of the remaining 2 players could prove to be a problem for the team.
Weak lower order batting: After Jadeja at number-7, the batting of the remaining 4 players of the team is very weak. None of the batsmen in Kuldeep, Bumrah, Shami and Siraj can take the responsibility of scoring 15 runs in the last 12 balls.
Weakness against Left Arm Pacers: Most of the batsmen in the team find it difficult against Left Arm Pacers. Captain Rohit Sharma has been a victim of left arm pacer 5 times in ODIs since 2021. At the same time, Virat Kohli was also dismissed by a left arm fast bowler during this period. On the other hand, there is not a single left arm pacer in Team India.
Team India's squad for Asia Cup...
Pakistan: Strong top order, 4 all-rounders too; Middle order weak, fielding bad
Pakistan is the number-1 team in ICC's ODI rankings. Just before the Asia Cup, the team won a 3–0 ODI series against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka. The team's top-3 batsmen Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam have scored 16 centuries after the 2019 ODI World Cup. Which is the highest compared to the top-3 of the rest of the countries in this time period.
This time, along with Pakistan's pacers, batters and all-rounders like Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz will also have the responsibility of making the team win the Asia Cup title for the third time.
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Top-3 Strength
Top order scored 16 centuries in 31 matches: Pakistan captain Babar is at number-1 in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings. Openers Imam-ul Haq and Fakhar Zaman are also included in the top-5 batters. Together, the trio scored 16 centuries in 31 matches after the 2019 World Cup, which is the most among the top-3 batsmen of all countries.
4 players with multiple skill sets: There are 4 players in Pakistan's possible playing-11 who have the ability to win matches with both bat and ball. These include Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Wasim.
3 bowlers with 145 km speed: Pakistan's collective pace bowling attack is currently the fastest in the world. Shaheen, Naseem and Haris, all three can bowl at a speed of more than 145 KMPH. His extra speed can give advantage to the team. Pakistan has the upper hand on the fast bowling front.
top-3 weekend
Middle order weak: Pakistan is also a top heavy side like India. That means the top-3 batsmen of the team are excellent, but the consistency in the middle order is less. Iftikhar, Rizwan and Salman are very talented, but they were never tested in big ODI tournaments. If Pakistan loses two-three wickets in the beginning, the team may lag behind in the match.
Played very few matches: Pakistan has played 31 ODI matches since the 2019 ODI World Cup. This is the lowest after Afghanistan (24 matches). India has played 57 matches during this period. That means Pakistan team has not been able to play many ODI matches in recent years. This can be harmful for the team in big tournaments.
Bad Fielding Side: Pakistan team is considered to be one of the worst fielding sides in international cricket. Dropping catches on important occasions and losing run out opportunities have become the identity of the Pakistan team. This weakness can sink the team's boat once again.
