Asia Cup 2018: India vs Pakistan, 4 Key Battles that will shape the contest

Phew.

That was nerve-wracking.

Almost a national disappointment.

An embarrassment.

And that was just Hong Kong.

The real pressure starts now.

If you thought almost losing to Hong Kong was bad, wait till you see what happens if India loses to Pakistan. Remember the last time? The Champions Trophy final? That happened because India lost several key battles.

Unlike T20 cricket, One Day Cricket is rarely won due to one spellbinding performance, and little else from everybody. The spellbinding performance helps, but what value would Fakhar Zaman's century have had if Pakistan had bowled awfully. Sachin Tendulkar spent a decade playing spellbinding knock after spellbinding knock, only to end up on the losing side due to a lack of support from his teammates. There may be an 'I' in Cricket, but it is very much a team game.

These three key battles have the potential to shape the match. They have been identified gauging India's strengths, Pakistan's strengths, and past precedent. They say that you need to turn your weakness into a strength in order to be truly successful, but you cut your opponent off at the knees by turning their strength into a weakness.

India just played Hong Kong yesterday in the sapping heat, and were almost upset. Pakistan has had the opportunity to rest after handily defeating the same opponents.

Conventional wisdom says that Pakistan has the slight advantage due to this, but conventional wisdom never did apply to India-Pakistan matches.

India's Openers versus the Pakistani new ball attack

Can Shikhar Dhawan continue his good form?

Virat Kohli is one man.

But he is a very very very important man.

India's Captain, and best batsman has been rested for this Asia Cup, and India now has a Virat Kohli sized hole to fill.

How do they fill it?

They don't. You don't just replace your talisman Captain, the best ODI batsman in the world today, and arguably one of the greatest ODI players ever.

The absence of Kohli is exacerbated by India's unsettled batting line-up. Neither Dinesh Karthik, nor Ambati Rayudu are automatic picks, and Kedhar Jadhav is on the comeback trail after injury.

So what do you do when you have a Kohli sized hole in your team that cannot be filled? You paper over it. India cannot change what they do not have, but they can make use of available resources.

In Rohit Sharma, they have one of the very best ODI batsmen in the world, and an in-form Shikhar Dhawan is a dangerous proposition for any attack. They are India's greatest batting strength, and must blunt the Pakistani new-ball attack.

With an untested middle-order, and an M.S. Dhoni on the wane, losing early wickets could be catastrophic for India. They will have lost one or both of their most experienced players, and their template for ODI success; most of India's wins have been built upon a strong contribution by one of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shikhar Dhawan. Moreover, India's middle order has been suspect in recent times. All this without taking into account the pressure of an India-Pakistan contest.

Conversely, a strong opening partnership provides an excellent platform for the likes of Dhoni, Rayudu, and Karthik to build upon, and puts the pressure solely on the Pakistanis. An Indian middle order that is building upon a platform rather than outright building it is especially dangerous, and will allow Hardik Pandya and Kedhar Jadhav the license they need to tee off.

Pakistan decimated India's Champions Trophy Final run-chase due to a searing new-ball burst. It was a knockout blow that India never recovered from. The contest was definitely over even before it began.

His recent poor form notwithstanding, Pakistan would be mad to drop Mohammad Amir. Whilst it would be foolish to discount any of Pakistan's new-ball attack, he is their most potent threat.

He is the spear that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan must blunt if India is to defeat Pakistan.

How well can Pakistan's middle order handle India's spin twins?

Sarfraz Ahmed will have to lead from the front

India have a very good ODI bowling attack.

A key component of said attack are their spin twins; Yuzvendra Chahal, the leg-spinner, and Kuldeep Yadav, the chinaman bowler. Together, they have played a variety of roles. They have bamboozled well-set batsmen, and quickly dispatched off new batsmen. They are equally adept at derailing a well-placed innings, and suffocating what little life remains in a meandering one. They have been at various times, the Captain's get-out-of-jail cards, and the exclamation point of a dominant bowling display.

However, it must be noted that India has not recently played teams that could be described as being good against spin-bowling. This does not take away from Chahal and Yadav's efficacy; they can only face what is in front of them after all, but it does beg the question of just how effective they will be against a middle-order that plays spin well. Against a middle-order like Pakistan's.

In Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed, India's spin twins may face their toughest test yet. They are both excellent players of spin; Malik, in particular, has hit many a quality spinner out of the attack. Neither is afraid to use their feet, and both make excellent use of their feet. It promises to be a fascinating battle. Less subtle, but equally important, is the threat of a well-set Fakhar Zaman looking to tee-off. He absolutely destroyed Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja the last time these two teams met.

This promises to be a very interesting, and absolutely crucial battle. A good start by Pakistan places the onus upon Chahal and Yadav to rein them in; failure to do so could mean a large total, or the increased probability of a successful run-chase. A poor start by Pakistan places the onus upon Chahal and Yadav to administer the knockout blow before any semblance of a fightback is mounted.

For Pakistan's batsmen, these two represent both opportunity, and a threat. They are simultaneously a potential banana peel that can derail a successful start, or cause further humiliation, and the opportunity to build upon a good start, or counterattack to mitigate a poor one.

The sword of Fakhar Zaman

New Zealand v Pakistan - 4th ODI

The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.

Especially if those plans run into Fakhar Zaman.

India have the threat of Fakhar Zaman hanging over their hands in the manner popularized by the Sword of Damocles. With an average of 72, a strike-rate of 101, and a personal best of 210*, he is the single most potent ODI batting weapon that Pakistan have possessed since the hey-day of Shahid Afridi. He is a powder-keg waiting to go off, and as he demonstrated the last time that these teams met, he goes off with several bangs.

Simply put, India must get him out quickly. As soon as possible. Within the first five overs. Fakhar Zaman has proven time and time again that he does not respect the bowlers or conventional wisdom, as likely to play a slog-sweep in the 25th over, as he is to play it in the 45th over. If he gets going, he will wreak merry havoc, and take the pressure off anybody batting with him, and anybody coming in after him, due to how quickly he scores. This is not a genie that India wants to try and put back into the bottle. As the well-known saying goes; prevention is better than cure.

They must fight fire with fire. They must set attacking fields, bowl attacking lines and lengths, and risk being fit for a flurry of boundaries in order to get him out. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah must use every bit of their considerable skills, and bowling IQ to throw him off his game. Their goal must be to get him out before Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal come on to bowl.

As the well-known saying goes; prevention is better than cure. As the not-so-well-known saying goes; you can't put toothpaste back into the tube.

India will be playing constant catch-up if their plan for Fakhar Zaman is damage control.

The players versus the fans: Who will handle the expectations the best?

The hopes of billions

A cricket match between India and Pakistan is a big deal.

Can you spell understatement?

I could write that a cricket match between India and Pakistan is the biggest deal that was ever dealt and it still wouldn't come close to describing the enormity of the situation. India's group stage Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan was viewed by 201 million people. Everybody watches India versus Pakistan matches. It doesn't matter whether you're a Cricket fanatic, or if the only Cricket you know is an insect; if you're Indian or Pakistani, chances are you will be watching this match.

If you are lucky enough to play in one of these, you literally have millions of eyeballs scrutinizing your every move. This is without taking into account the cauldron of emotions that the stadium itself is; fueled by the chants of partisan fans. The cacophony of cheers and boos, prayers and recriminations, boos and hisses, in the Colosseum must have surely sounded like ambient music in comparison to a stadium during an India-Pakistan clash.

No pressure, then.

Just another day in the office.

Not quite.

The pressure is an inescapable reality; nothing can really be done about it. It can be managed, help is surely offered, but it will never truly go away.

The question is how the pressure will affect the players.

Sachin Tendulkar spent 12 sleepless nights in the lead-up to India's 2003 World Cup match against Pakistan. He responded with a match-winning 98 that eviscerated a Pakistani pace-attack reading Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar. The great man took all that pressure, and channeled it emotionally into his batting; he asked his opening partner, Virender Sehwag, to take it easy, and then upper-cut a Shoaib Akhtar delivery that would surely have been called wide for a six.

Fakhar Zaman must have been under an inordinate amount of pressure in the Champions Trophy Final against India last year. He used it to propel his team to victory.

Pressure is not necessarily a bad thing.

However, not all players use it to fuel themselves.

Some freeze in the spotlight.

Mitchell Johnson memorably had a bowling meltdown in the Lord's Ashes Test of 2009; the immense media scrutiny he was under, taunts of England's Barmy Army, and momentousness of the occasion caused him to spray the ball all round.

And so it is the team that handles pressure better that will probably win.

Will pressure cause a crucial drop catch? Will it cause a usually free-flowing batsman to scratch around due to fear of failure? Will it cause a bowler to go to pieces/

Who will rise to the occasion? Who will stand up to be counted? Who will use the pressure as motivation? And who will recognize a player under pressure, and move in for the kill?

Most likely, a player on the winning team.