Asia Cup 2018 Super 4, Match 3: India & Pakistan eyes finals berth

Date & Time : 23rd September & 3:30 PM Local Time, 5:00 PM IST

Venue : Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

India and Pakistan have geared up for a 'Super Sunday Super 4' clash at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. A win here will ensure one final berth for sure. But the last four matches between these two beloved neighbors has resulted in an one-sided affairs with margins reading 8 wickets, 180 runs, 124 runs, 76 runs respectively. So, what will the round 2 encounter offer us? Will it be a blockbuster or a damp squib?

Team India are on a roll with three consecutive wins so far in this tournament. The Rohit Sharma-led team is the only team yet to face a defeat in the competition. Captain Rohit with two delightful knocks in two easy chases Is looking in sublime form.

Jadeja latched onto his ODI lifeline with clever bowling and this time his main target will be to cement his position in the team. Dinesh Karthik with his flawless stint at the crease may keep KL Rahul again on benches. They are likely to go with an unchanged eleven.

Pakistan had a much needed 'hard-fought' victory against Afghanistan before an all important super four clash against India. After an ordinary performance in their previous fixture against the same opponents, Pakistan's last over win against Afghanistan gave them the much needed momentum.

Pakistan -

The only matter of concern is their continuous middle-order batting collapses. Whenever openers have got out quickly, the middle order batsman failed to execute the rebuild act. Captain Sarfraz with his never ending string of failures was the chief architect of those failures with only one fifty in his last 15 odd innings.

The main hope will once again revolve around Shoaib Malik. He is the only Pakistani batsman who is looking most likely to bat in any difficult situation. Fakhar Zaman with his pair of ducks, suddenly looks vulnerable with poor shot selections against quality bowlers. He will be eager to get some runs under his belt.

Pitch & Conditions :

The pitch for this game is changed and it will give more bounce to quicks when compared to previous matches in this year's competition at this venue. This will keep Pakistan's pacers interested. Both the teams will look forward in keeping their opponents on the field during the high temperature day innings.

Team Combinations :

Ravindra Jadeja's heroic comeback to the ODi side added one more variety to an already world class spin unit. Along with the spin trio, Jadhav is also there to assist them. In Bhuvi-Bumrah, they had two current best fast bowlers in ODI format who will be itching to operate their plans together.

In the batting front, though lot of former players and current analysts have expressed their desire to include KL Rahul into the playing XI, the team management have still persisted with Dinesh Karthik. And at the moment, chances of any changes are highly unlikely. Captain Rohit and Vice Captain Dhawan will look to continue their sublime touch at the top the order.

India (Likely XI) - Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan (VC), Ambati Rayudu, KL Rahul/Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Pakistan (Likely XI) - Fakhar Zaman, Imam-Ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (C & wk), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi

Shadab Khan regaining fitness from his groin injury will improve their bowling depth. But it is unfair to drop Mohammad Nawaz after his decent figures of 3-57. Faheem Ashraf could be the man to miss out. With teenage sensation Shaheen Afridi's impressive debut, senior pro Mohammad Amir may have to warm the benches again.

Stats :

--> 94 - Runs needed by Rohit Sharma to reach 7000 ODI runs.

--> 4 - Wickets needed by Bhuvi to take 100 ODI wickets.

--> 2 - Wickets needed by Yuzvendra Chahal to reach 50 ODI wickets.

--> 50 - If he plays, this will be Babar Azam's 50th ODI.

--> 0 & 0 - Fakhar Zaman had never been dismissed on 0 before this tournament. But in the last two matches against India & Afghanistan, he's gone for ducks.