Asia Cup 2022: 3 players who are key if India face Pakistan again in the Super 4 stage

India started their 2022 Asia Cup campaign with a resounding five-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan and followed it up with a 40-run victory against Hong Kong to seal their spot in the Super 4 stage.

The Men in Blue will now face the top two teams from Group B and the second-placed team from Group A once each in the Super 4 stage. This means that Team India will play Pakistan again if the Babar Azam-led side get the better of Hong Kong in their final group stage encounter.

Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were the stars of the Men in Blue's recent win over the Men in Green. But should the two sides meet again in a few days' time, here are three Indian players who could be key to their team's chances of winning the contest.

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav has been in scintillating form recently. The right-handed batter brought out his range of shots in India's win over Hong Kong on Wednesday, August 31. The Mumbai Indians (MI) star smashed an unbeaten 68 runs off 26 deliveries to power his side to a match-winning total of 192.

Although he wasn't at his best against Pakistan, if the two teams meet again, a lot will depend on how SKY performs, given he is the team's best batter on current form.

A quick-fire knock from him could change the game in his side's favor at any given point, which makes him all the more dangerous. Expect him to play a key role if the Men in Blue register a second consecutive win over Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup.

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#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's primary job in the first match was to break Pakistan's dangerous opening partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. The two batters took the game away from India when the two sides met at the 2021 T20 World Cup, helping Pakistan to a 10-wicket win.

Bhuvneshwar delivered in style as he removed Babar in his second over. The skipper's dismissal derailed Pakistan's innings, which was only salvaged by a late onslaught from No.11 Shahnavaz Dahani.

The swing bowler returned in his second spell to pick up three more wickets and eventually finished with figures of 4/26 from his four overs. Another stellar performance from him would go a long way in ensuring his side get the better of Pakistan again.

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#1 Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya played the perfect all-rounder's role for the Men in Blue in their tournament opener against Pakistan. He first picked up three important wickets, including that of Mohammad Rizwan, then won the match for his team with the bat.

Walking in with India at 89/4 in the 15th over and still needing 60 runs, Pandya joined hands with Jadeja to hunt down the total with two balls to spare. He scored 33 runs off 17 balls and was named Player of the Match for his all-round displays.

He was rested for the Hong Kong encounter, highlighting how important he is for the team.