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On 19th of September, India emerged victorious as they thumped their arch-rivals Pakistan in their Group A clash. Men in blues were dominating the game from ball one and never relinquished their control over the game. Pakistan was outplayed in every aspect of the game, be it batting, bowling or fielding.
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With a plethora of positives from the match, only negative was Hardik Pandya's back injury which ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
India is going to face Bangladesh in the first match of Super four stage on the 21st of September in Dubai. So it will be interesting to see which combination the team management goes with.
India's playing eleven against their subcontinent rivals could assume a form resembling the squad mentioned ahead:
Openers:
Rohit Sharma
Skipper Rohit Sharma was in great touch against the Pakistani bowling attack. The Mumbai batsman gave mouth-shutting replies to all who were doubting his batting abilities against the fearsome Pakistani pace attack led by Mohammad Amir.
Hitman will look to continue his form against Bangladesh as well. In the captaincy department also, Rohit Sharma is also garnering plaudits from various quarters as he looks to have got the combination right. Both, his batting and captaincy so far have ensured that the absence of Virat Kohli isn't felt.
Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan is perhaps India's go-to man in the big tournaments. The left-hander has a penchant for scoring big when it matters. Shikhar Dhawan had a disastrous tour of England however, his place in the squad as an opener in limited overs cricket was always a near certainty.
He is the top scorer so far in the tournament with scoring 173 runs in two innings. He has once again announced his comeback into form with style. Along with Rohit Sharma, he put on an impressive 86 run stand and gave a strong foundation for the run-chase against Pak.
Number three: Ambati Rayudu
The Chennai Super Kings batsman made his comeback into the squad after missing the England tour due to failing a fitness test. It appears that Rayudu has carried his IPL form into the Asia cup has looked promising so far. He scored a good fifty against Hong Kong in his comeback knock. Against Pakistan, he was there till the finish as India chased the total of 165 against their arch-rivals
Number four: KL Rahul / Dinesh Karthik
The Tamil Nadu batsman had a good start to the tournament so far, he managed to score 86 runs against Hong Kong and finished the proceedings against Pakstan along with Ambati Rayudu.
Though Karthik did his job perfectly for the team and did nothing wrong to be dropped, India can look to give KL Rahul a chance in the encounter against Bangladesh. KL Rahul is an impact player for the team and could potentially get a look in by the team management.
Number five: MS Dhoni (Wicketkeeper)
MS Dhoni will continue to care of the gloves and finishing duties. Dhoni had a poor start to the tournament with a duck against the minnows Hong Kong. Although, he didn't get to bat against Pakistan but he was influential behind the wicket and did a stumping with two catches.
All-Rounder and Number six: Kedhar Jadhav
The man with the golden arm, Kedar Jadhav is a very good option for India going forward. Awkward to play against when he's bowling and also contributing more than adequately in his batting, the 33-year-old's presence is crucial for Team India's squad balance.
India desperately needed a bowling option after Hardik Pandya had to leave the field due to a back injury. Jadhav did not disappoint. His lower arm action troubled the batsman, and as a result, Kedhar grabbed three wickets in his quota. He would be the one filling the all-rounder void, and will undoubtedly feature in the eleven against Bangladesh.
Spinners:
Yuzvendra Chahal
Chahal was superb in both the games against Hong Kong and Pakistan. He picked up three crucial wickets against Hong Kong and was effective against despite null in the wicket column. Yuzvendra Chahal is a clever bowler and often bags wickets in the unlikeliest of situations.
Kuldeep Yadav
The chinaman bowler provided significant break-through whenever the opponents were looking to take the game away from India. He is one of the most difficult bowlers in the world to pick currently.
Kuldeep and Chahal fondly called as "Kulcha", can incinerate any batting line-up and hold the key in the middle overs against Bangladesh.
Pacers:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvi looked pretty ordinary against Hong Kong but showed up in the encounter against Pakistan. He dismissed both the openers cheaply and bowled with discipline on a pitch which offered nothing to pacers.
He is equally adept at bowling with the new ball and at the death. Moreover, his batting is crucial as he has a good technique with the bat and can contribute valuable runs while batting with the tail
Jasprit Bumrah
In his return match, Bumrah was very accurate and dangerous. He bowled successive maiden overs which helped Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalp the Pakistani openers. Jasprit Bumrah is one of the world's best pacers currently and can walk into the starting eleven of any team in the world.
Khaleel Ahmed
The Lanky left-arm pacer from Rajasthan was quite impressive in his debut match. Khaleel managed to get three critical wickets against Hong Kong, which turned out to be the turning point of the game. Despite playing limited first-class cricket, the youngster repaid the selector's faith with a good showing.
He had to make way for Pandya against Pakistan but Hardik’s absence from rest of the tournament can give Khaleel a chance to showcase his talent.
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