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Rohit Sharma and Co. are all set to begin their Asia Cup title defense against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday (August 28).
The Men in Blue will be keen to avenge their 10-wicket loss against Babar Azam and Co. that they suffered during the 2021 T20 World Cup at the same venue.
India will look to put their best foot forward this time around. They have been in terrific form as of late, having defeated West Indies and England, respectively, in the T20I series away from home. The seven-time Asia Cup champions are also the top-ranked side in T20Is.
Pakistan, on the other hand, are the third-ranked side in the ICC T20I rankings but can’t be taken lightly.
The high-voltage contest is expected to be one of the most viewed matches in the sub-continent as political tensions have restricted the two countries to only playing against each other during ICC events.
Ahead of the Indo-Pak clash, fans on Twitter shared their desperation to witness the highly-anticipated clash in Group B of the tournament. Here are some of the reactions:
Besides nitizens, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar also jumped on the bandwagon to express his anticipation for the clash between the two countries.
Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer, who is quite active on social media, also shared a hilarious post.
India lead Pakistan in Head-to-Head stats
The two teams have, so far, locked horns on nine occasions in the T20Is. India lead Pakistan 7-2 in head-to-head contests. However, they were completely outclassed by Babar Azam and Co. in their last meeting at the same venue last year.
Rohit affirmed that the contest will be challenging, but they will be ready for it. He said:
“It is going to be challenging no doubt. We will have to be up for it."
“We will try to be in [the] present. Preparation-wise, we will not be short. We are not looking at the opposition at all."
"What we need to achieve as a group is more important than the opposition. We have to think of this as our just another opposition who we want to beat and do well against."
Meanwhile, Babar has strong faith in his team despite multiple injury setbacks like Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim. He stressed:
"Everyone waits for the match between India and Pakistan. It is important to enjoy this game. Our bench strength is strong, injuries can happen, and it is part and parcel. I have faith in every player."
India and Pakistan squads for Asia Cup
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir and Mohammad Hasnain.
