Asia Cup 2018: Strongest Indian XI to beat Pakistan

The matchup between India and Pakistan is the most awaited contest of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament. Both teams would want to win the match and give joy to their loyal fans. The match is expected to be a close contest and the team with the best balance in their line up would definitely win.

Let's have a look at the strongest Indian playing XI to beat Pakistan when the two teams meet each other- __________________________________________________________________________

#1 Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan complement each other really well in ODIs while opening the innings. They have opened in 78 innings together and have scored 3444 runs together. This run tally is the eight on the all-time list of successful ODI opening partnerships. They have featured in ten hundred partnerships together. They will be expected to provide a strong start against Pakistan and allow the middle order to play to their strengths.

Rohit Sharma will have to play his natural game and bat as long as he can. His innings will be crucial to India's success against Pakistan. Shikhar Dhawan has to play his usual attacking innings and form a useful partnership with Rohit.

The openers hold the key to India's success against the Pakistani line-up.

#2 Middle order - Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav

Manish Pandey needs to play to his strengths

Manish Pandey should come in at number three. He is an aggressive middle order player and can play vital innings for the team when required. His ODI record is pretty good with an average of almost 40. He has scored a brilliant century against Australia to chase down 330 runs. His batting needs to come good if India needs to prevail against Pakistan.

Ambati Rayudu is a brilliant limited overs cricketer. He has the ability to construct an innings well and also play big shots when the situation arises. His average of 50 in ODI's prove that he is very consistent and hard-working player.

Kedhar Jadhav is a very useful batsman. He has scored two ODI centuries and possesses an average of almost 40. His part-time spin is also very useful and can break threatening partnerships.

#3 Wicket-Keeper and all-rounder - MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

MS Dhoni is the most experienced batsman in the team and has a very strong batting record. He has played over 300 ODI matches and scored over 10000 runs. He also has an excellent wicket-keeping record with 294 dismissals. He has an excellent batting record and has played some memorable innings against them. He also needs to mentor Rohit Sharma and help him out to manage the team in the absence of Kohli.

Hardik Pandya is an aggressive batsman who can hit sixes at will against spinners. His fast bowling will act as a backup to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. He can also pick up useful wickets with his bowling.

#4 Spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

Kuldeep and Chahal - spin twins

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been a revelation in limited overs cricket. They bowl well together and take useful wickets. Their bowling has a huge role to play in spin-friendly conditions of the UAE.

They need to tie down the opposition batsman with their strong line and lengths and not let them score big runs. They need to keep their confidence up and should not be bogged down if hit for a few boundaries.

#5 Fast bowlers - Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar - a strong performer

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are the best death ball bowlers currently in world cricket. They are very difficult to score against when in full form. They both possess a very good ODI record while bowling.

They need to pick up the early wickets to help their team assert advantage early in the opposition innings. Both the players are a luxury to have in any ODI team. They need to play to their strengths if India has to prevail against Pakistan.