Sri Lanka have virtually booked their berth in the final making this a semifinal clash.
Virat Kohli of India makes his ground to score the winning run during
the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan at Edgbaston
on June 15, 2013 in Birmingham, England. (GETTY)
India and Pakistan will reignite their intense, but intermittent,
cricket rivalry when they clash in Match Six of the Asia Cup in Mirpur
today.
The marquee clash between Asia's fiercest rivals is like a semifinal
since both teams will go into Sunday's showdown having been beaten by
Sri Lanka who have virtually booked their berth in the final.
Defending champions Pakistan, chasing Sri Lanka's competitive 296-6,
ended 12 runs short in the opening match after sling-arm fast bowler
Lasith Malinga grabbed five wickets in a devastating final spell.
Pakistan overcame early wobbles against Afghanistan to win by 72 runs on
Thursday thanks to Umar Akmal's 89-ball 102 not out, which lifted them
from a precarious 117-6 to 248-8 in 50 overs before they wrapped up
their rivals for 176 in 47.2 overs.
India registered a comfortable six-wicket victory over hosts Bangladesh
in their tournament opener on Wednesday but went down to Sri Lanka on
Friday.
Sri Lanka scraped home by two wickets after India suffered from a series of dropped catches and missed stumping opportunities.
Although both teams go into the match with an even record - a win and
one loss each - Pakistan have a slight edge as they have a bonus point
in their kitty from their win against associate nation Afghanistan and
have a better net run rate than India.
Meanwhile, the action shifts to the Shere Bangla National Stadium in
Mirpur after the first five matches were played at Fatullah.
Interestingly, the last time India played Pakistan in the Asia Cup at Mirpur in 2012, they beat them by six wickets.
India chased down a 330-run target in less than 48 overs thanks to Kohli’s magnificent 183 off 148 deliveries.
Their most recent meeting was in the ICC Champions Trophy last June when
India won a rain-affected match in Birmingham by eight wickets and went
on to win the tournament.
But the sheer importance of the contest will mean that the past records
will have little relevance as the two teams look to renew their rivalry
and score some brownie points.
It is also the first meeting between the Asian powerhouses in the
backdrop of the new International Cricket Council reforms, where
Pakistan vehemently opposes the plan to concentrate power on the 'Big
Three' which includes India.
On-field contests featuring the traditional foes, which attract millions
of viewers around the cricket world, have fallen victim to political
stand-offs between the two warring neighbours.
Since the ICC World Cup 2011 semi-final, India and Pakistan have played
just five one-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 matches against each
other, mostly in multi-nation events.
“Its always a big challenge playing against India because there is so
much interest in the game,” said Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq. “India
are a formidable side and we have to be at our best to win.”
“We may not have played each other much recently, but I know it will be an exciting match,” he added.
India will be without their talismanic captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and
it remains to be seen how their most prolific batsman Kohli carries the
weight of expectations when he leads the team out for the first time
against Pakistan.
The new-look middle order without Dhoni is a major concern for India who
were restricted to 264-9 against Sri Lanka when they looked on course
for a total in excess of 300 after Shikhar Dhawan (94) and Kohli (48)
gave them a solid platform.
The Indian think tank may consider including Cheteshwar Pujara to bring
in some solidity after the failure of Ambati Rayudu (18), Dinesh Karthik
(4) and Stuart Binny (0) cost them against Sri Lanka.
Skipper Kohli has shrugged of concerns about the performance of Sharma as opener.
"We need to have faith in him because he's done really well and stepped
up when we didn't have any opening options. He's filled in that spot
beautifully and I think he deserves all the faith," Kohli has said.
In bowling, too, India missed a third spinner to back Ravindra Jadeja
and Ravichandran Ashwin in the death overs with Rohit Sharma being the
seventh bowler to be used.
Amit Mishra is an option in the spin department.
Pakistan, too, face similar batting woes with their star performer so
far being Umar Akmal having scored 74 against Sri Lanka and then an
unbeaten 102 against Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan’s world class bowling attack will have to be at its very best to contain India.
Umar Gul will have to lead the attack with more intensity.
Junaid Khan has a psychological edge over Kohli after having dismissed
him on all three occasions in the bilateral ODI series last year.
Mohammad Hafeez's form will also prove to be crucial in a tense match
like this, as also that of match-winning allrounder Shahid Afridi.
Both the teams will be looking to bowl first after winning the toss because of the dew factor.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar
Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Stuart
Binny, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami,
Cheteshwar Pujara, Amit Mishra, Varun Aaron and Ishwar Pandey.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed
Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid
Afridi, Anwar Ali, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Talha,
Abdur Rehman, Fawad Alam.
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