3 India players Pakistan will have to be wary of ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 clash ft. Virat Kohli

India will be up against arch-rivals Pakistan in the third match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 today (3 PM IST) at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

Both teams are part of Group A, which has Nepal as the third team. The co-hosts for the Asia Cup won the first match against Nepal by a comfortable margin of 238 runs.

Pakistan are currently the ICC number 1-ranked ODI side in the world. They whitewashed Afghanistan in a 3-match series in Sri Lanka recently. India are ranked 3, and they defeated West Indies 2-1 in their last ODI series.

The head-to-head between two teams in this format has been 4-1 in India's favour in the last 5 matches. However, the one match they lost was the final of the Champions Trophy in 2017.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam would have to plan extremely well if his team has to defeat their neighbours. The team management should plan extra hard for specific players who have proved to be an Achilles' Heel for them in the past. We look at three such players in this piece.

#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli always seems to bring his A-game against Pakistan in big tournaments, regardless of the format. The former India skipper played arguably the greatest T20 knock of his career (82* off 53 balls) when these two teams met at the MCG in the T20 World Cup last year.

Kohli has an impressive record against the men in green in the 50-over format too. He has scored 536 runs in 13 innings at an average of 48.73 and a strike rate of 96.23.

He has also returned to form in the format. In the last 12 months, he has scored 554 runs in 12 matches at an average of 50.36 and a strike rate of 115.41 with three centuries and one half-century.

His best knock for India in ODIs against Pakistan came in 2012 when he scored a magnificent 183, in a chase of 330 at Dhaka in the Asia Cup of that year. In 2015, he became the first Indian player to score a World Cup hundred against them - 107 off 126 balls.

He also has a couple of crucial fifties - 81* off 68 balls in the group stage of the 2017 Champions Trophy and 77 off 58 balls in the 2019 World Cup.

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#2 Hardik Pandya

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is one of the most valuable limited-overs players for Team India. The fast-bowling all-rounder has a solid record against the arch-rivals in ODI cricket - 122 runs in 3 innings at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 179.

With the ball, he has picked up five wickets in four matches at an average of 37 and an economy rate of 5.32 - good numbers for a fifth bowler.

Playing against Pakistan is about handling the pressure effectively. It is not just any other game for the fans on both sides of the border. Hardik Pandya has proved from time to time that he can step up for the team in pressure situations.

He played a lone warrior knock in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, scoring a quick-fire 76 off just 43 balls along with being the second-most economical bowler for India (1/53 in 10 overs). Not to mention his all-round efforts in India's Asia Cup and T20 World Cup wins over Pakistan last year.

In the last 12 months, he has scored 280 runs in 10 innings at an average of 31.11 and a strike rate of 97 and picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 5.91. While these are not stunning numbers, he can put in impact performances as an all-rounder.

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#3 Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav's return to form could prove to be a massive factor for India going into the Asia Cup and the World Cup. In the last 12 months, the left-arm wrist-spinner has picked up 29 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 18.51 and a strike rate of 22.4. He also conceded runs at just 4.94 runs per over.

Kuldeep has also done well against Pakistan - 5 wickets in 3 matches at an average of just 22 and an economy rate of 4.07. The mystery element could prove to be a challenge for the Pakistan batters.

Kuldeep has also got the better of the current number 1 ODI batter in the world - Babar Azam. He has dismissed the Pakistan skipper twice in 34 balls, conceding just 18 runs. If he can repeat his heroics, it will definitely give India an upper hand.