3 player battles to watch out for in India vs Pakistan, Match 3 of Asia Cup 2023

The highly-anticipated India-Pakistan encounter to be played at Kandy in the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup is just a few hours away, and the excitement among the fans is understandably pretty high.

The two teams had a sensational game the last time they faced each other in the T20 World Cup last year. A miraculous knock from Virat Kohli saw the Men in Blue pip Pakistan on the last ball.

However, the last one-day game that India and Pakistan played was way back in the 2019 World Cup, and things have changed quite a bit ever since. Babar Azam and Co. look a lot more balanced and versatile in terms of their batting line-up and have a fearsome pace trio to test India's quality batting.

On that note, let's take a look at three massive match-ups that could potentially decide who takes the win on Saturday:

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#3 Virat Kohli vs Haris Rauf

Just by reading the heading of the match-up, Indian fans are bound to remember with joy the two incredible sixes that Virat Kohli hit Haris Rauf for in his miraculous innings of 82* last year. How he was able to manufacture those shots still continues to baffle people, and that's what makes this match-up interesting.

Kohli has faced Rauf in just T20Is till now, scoring 42 runs from 32 balls and not being dismissed even once. However, the pitch in Kandy might have some extra bounce on offer, enhancing Rauf's hit-the-deck ability. It will be interesting to see how this match-up develops in the one-day format.

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#2 Babar Azam vs Kuldeep Yadav

Babar Azam is probably the big wicket that India need as soon as possible to get ahead in the game, and his recent form shows exactly what he is capable of. Having already smashed 19 hundreds, the Pakistan captain is deservingly the No. 1-ranked ODI batter at the moment.

Interestingly, Babar has struggled against Kuldeep Yadav, and captain Rohit Sharma will certainly know about it given his interest in match-ups and data. In the 34 balls that Babar has faced from Kuldeep, he has scored just 18 runs and has been dismissed twice already. The Men in Blue will want their wrist spinner to work his magic and get them the big fish.

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#1 Rohit Sharma vs Shaheen Afridi

Probably a no-brainer for arguably the most awaited match-up, Rohit Sharma's struggles against left-arm pacers of late have got fans wondering how he will adjust to the threat from Shaheen Afridi.

The Indian opener was dismissed for a golden duck when he faced off against Shaheen in the T20 World Cup in 2021. The late swing that the speedster generates, along with the left-arm angle, could cause Rohit massive problems.

There isn't much history between the two in ODI cricket as Rohit has scored 18 runs off 19 balls from Shaheen. This will make things intriguing because the approach could be different in the ODI format. It will be interesting to see whether Rohit Sharma has made any changes to his technique to negotiate the threat Shaheen poses.