Confident India looks to dominate Pakistan
Dubai, UAE - After successive lop-sided victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh, a confident India will once again aim to brush aside its arch-rival Pakistan when the two teams clash in a Super Four match of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The match begins at 3.30pm, Oman time.
The men in blue are in hot form after an average show against Hong Kong in their campaign opener as the Rohit Sharma-led side registered convincing victories against Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Three days back when the two sides met, the Sarfraz Ahmed-led Pakistan side had no answer to either Indian bowling attack or the batting as the issue became an one-sided affair.
Rohit will be eyeing another top-level show from his bowlers and batsmen, including himself. The skipper himself is in good touch with the bat, amassing 158 runs from three innings while opener Shikhar Dhawan, too, looks in fine form, putting 213 runs in three games.
Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu have also delivered decent performances in the middle-order and experienced M S Dhoni, who failed to fire against Hong Kong, looked good during his 33 off 37 balls against Bangladesh on Friday.
Ravindra Jadeja, who replaced injured Hardik Pandya midway in the tournament, blew away Bangladesh's middle order, scalping four wickets for 29 runs.
In the bowling department, pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been phenomenal. Bhuvneshwar took three wickets against both Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Bumrah scalped three against Bangladesh and two against Pakistan. Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal did not get any wickets against Bangladesh, but the duo managed to keep the pressure on the opposition.
Part-time spinner Kedar Jadhav, who came as a surprise package against Pakistan on Wednesday after his three for 23, could also pose a major threat to Pakistan's batting.
The Indian team looks balanced and the team management is unlikely to make any changes on Sunday.
Pakistan will need to come up with something special to stop a spirited team India.
Opener Fakhar Zaman has failed to deliver in the tournament so far and was dismissed for a duck on two previous occasions against India and Afghanistan and Pakistan may likely replace the left-hander.
Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq have been among top run earners, with 146 and 132 runs respectively from three outings.
Veteran Shoaib Malik seemed to have regained his touch with his 43-ball unbeaten 51 to help Pakistan to a three-wicket win over Afghanistan on Friday.
The bowlers, however, have not been up to the mark as they allowed Afghanistan to put 257 runs on the board in 50 overs.
Overall, India will once again be the favourite but an unpredictable Pakistan has the ability to bounce back and so another high-voltage clash could be on the cards on a super Sunday.