Asia Cup 2022: "They rely so heavily on Mohammad Rizwan, along with Babar Azam" - Scott Styris on Pakistan's gameplan against India

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris feels Pakistan will be very reliant on openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam in their Asia Cup encounter against India.

The duo had an incredible partnership of 152 that helped them thump their arch-rivals by 10 wickets when the two sides met at last year's T20 World Cup. Styris feels another good start will be necessary, with the likes of Fakhar Zaman capable of giving impetus to their innings in the middle order.

Speaking on the show "Sports Over The Top" on SPORTS18, here's what Scott Styris had to say about Pakistan's strategy:

"So if you were to just look at the side, they rely so heavily on Mohammad Rizwan, along with Babar Azam, because if they get them off to a start, there's a lot of power hitting to come."

The Kiwi added:

"So, therefore, they will look to provide the base and then Fakhar Zaman of this world with all that power, that left-handed sort of variety as well."

Styris opined that the Men in Blue will need to aim to break Pakistan's opening partnership early. This will in turn force the latter team's middle order to build the innings rather than play freely from the start with a foundation in place. He added:

"I think coming in and maybe looking to attack the spinners, in particular, I think could work in Pakistan's favour. So India's key is to break that opening partnership, make those middle order players for Pakistan do what they don't want to do and that's actually at the back rather than walk out there and hit."

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India is still searching a little bit with their approach: Scott Styris

Although Pakistan are reliant on their openers to give them a flying start, Scott Styris feels they have a clear roadmap of how they want to approach their innings.

He reckons that India, on the other hand, are yet to have a proper blueprint despite their attacking brand of cricket. Styris stated:

"They should always be concerned about this top order, but the difference is this is probably one of the least unpredictable. Does that make them the most predictable team that I can remember for Pakistan?"

He continued:

"Because I think that they've embraced a culture of how they want to play the game and I think it's worked for them, whereas India, I think, is still searching a little bit."

India and Pakistan will clash on August 28 at the Dubai International Stadium.

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Can the Men in Blue avenge last year's defeat and thump Pakistan on August 28? Let us know in the comments.