Asia Cup 2018, Super Four Match 3, India vs Pakistan: Probable Playing XI

The third match of Super Four stage Asia Cup 2018 is a clash between India and Pakistan at Dubai on Sunday, September 23. It is known as the biggest rivalries of Asia.

Both the teams previously met each other on 19 September, where India won by eight wickets. It is their second clash in the tournament.

Interestingly, both the teams have defeated Hong Kong in the group stage and knocked them out of the competition.

India

India successfully defeated Bangladesh on 21 September by eight wickets. Ravindra Jadeja made an ODI comeback after a year and was awarded as the Man of the Match. He picked up the crucial wickets of Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun and Mosaddek Hossain. Also, the pacers Bumrah and Bhuvi picked up three wickets each. As a result, Bangladesh's innings was folded out for a total of 173 in 49.1 overs.

Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 83. A third-wicket partnership of 64 between Sharma and MS Dhoni made the chase of 174 possible.

The openers have been impressive throughout the tournament. The middle order will mainly hinge on Rayudu, MSD, Karthik and Kedar. The main all-rounder will be Jadeja in the absence of Hardik Pandya. The seam unit will pivot around Bhuvi and Bumrah. The vital spinners will be Kuldeep and Chahal.

Probable XI- Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan

Pakistan bounced back after their loss against India. They had a thrilling encounter with Afghanistan. The Men in Green won the match with three balls left. Shoaib Malik was the Player of the Match as he scored a match-winning knock of 51*. He is considered as the backbone of the batting lineup of Pakistan.

Mohammad Nawaz played his first match in the tournament. He was impressive with the ball as he dismissed the Afghan openers Mohammad Shahzad, Ihsanullah Janat, and Rahmat Shah. But, the knocks by Asghar and Shahidi propelled the team to a total of 257 in their allotted overs. Shaheen Afridi had a great ODI debut, where his bowling figures were 2/38.

In reply, the second-wicket partnership of 154 between Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam changed the condition of the game. After that, the Men in Green were simultaneously losing wickets. But, the game-changing innings by Malik brought the team back to the track and they chased the target of 258 easily.

The batting unit will mainly be dependent on Zaman, Haq and Malik. The bowlers will be Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Usman Khan.

Probable XI- Sarfraz Ahmed(c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Shan Masood, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan and Shaheen Afridi.