Asia Cup 2018, India vs Pakistan: Preview

The intense rivalry between India and Pakistan is set to set the stage on fire when they go head-to-head once again this Wednesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It is going to be 130th time these two powerful cricket nations go one-on-one in ODI Cricket. The last clash between these two titans was at the final of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 with the end result wasn't the one India hoped for.

History of the rivalry

The Indo-Pak rivalry is one of the most fierce and intensified sports rivalries in the world. The arch-rivals have always had one of the best cricket outings ever since this rivalry began. India and Pakistan have met 196 (59 Tests, 129 ODIs and eight T20Is) times on the cricket field in which quite surprisingly Pakistan have had the better of India by claiming 86 (12 Tests, 73 ODIs, and one T20I) victories whereas, India have managed to outplay Pakistan in 67 (nine Tests, 52 ODIs, and six T20Is) such occasions.

Rivalry at the Asia Cup

India and Pakistan have clashed 12 times in the Asia Cup till 2016 and the upcoming clash is going to be 13th of its kind. Here at the Asia Cup, India have the upper hand against Pakistan. India have won 6 matches out of the 12 matches played, with 1 match ending up in a Tie/NR, and Pakistan winning 5 of them.

Tale of the fact

Since the Indian skipper Virat Kohli is taking a break from the series, Rohit Sharma is set to lead the Men in Blue for the triumph with a perfect team with both experience and talented young lads in the squad. India will just be looking to dominate the tournament as they always do and march on the victory lap.

In the absence of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni must play that veteran and mentor role. In the absence of Ravi Shastri, MS Dhoni was seen mentoring the young lads. It is going to be joy to the eye to watch MS Dhoni once again in the national colours.

Squads

India -

Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav,Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Dinesh Karthik, and Khaleel Ahmed.

Pakistan -

Sarfraz Ahmed (captain and wk), Fakhar Zaman, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Harris Sohail, Imam ul Haq, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hassan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan, and Shaheen Afridi.

When and Where it is going to take place

The match will take place on 19th September 2018 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE. The coverage will start from 5 PM IST on the StarSports Network.