India are all set to face arch-rivals Pakistan for a second time in the Asia Cup 2018 after they thrashed the Green Gang in the group stage by eight wickets. Rohit Sharma's army is in exceptional form and except the Hong Kong game, the Men in blue have dominated in every match.
In the group stage of Asia Cup when India met Pakistan a lot of people were doubtful about how the team will perform in the absence of their regular skipper Virat Kohli, but the things went in their way. While on the other side Pakistan underperformed in the first match and looked a bit overconfident after their win in the final of Champions Trophy 2017. But the issues are arising non-stop for the Pakistan side as their prime bowlers Mohammad Amir and Hasan have performed poorly until now in the tournament. (Also Read: India vs Pakistan: From Imran Khan to MS Dhoni, 4 most successful captains over the years)
India got a major setback in the previous clash as their key player Hardik Pandya got injured and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament. Not just him but Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur will also miss the rest of the tournament due to injury. Ravindra Jadeja, Siddharth Kaul and Deepak Chahar came in the squad replacing the trio. While the inclusion of Jadeja in the team could serve as a blessing in disguise for the Indian team as the left-arm spinner destroyed the Bangladesh batting line up in the first game of the Super Four stage and picked up four crucial wickets. He was making his comeback in the Indian team after June 2017 and rocked the match by his scintillating performance.
The excellent form of middle order batsmen like Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik might lead to the exclusion of talented KL Rahul once again from the playing XI while Pakistan will try to chop and change their bowlers for the huge clash.
What to expect:
Looking at the current form India will surely have an edge over the Pakistan side and they just need to continue their momentum forward. While the Green Gang needs to consider it as a fresh match leaving behind the scars of the previous clash.
Predicted XI of India and Pakistan
India Predicted XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
Pakistan Predicted XI:
Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir
