India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2018: Key player battles to watch out for | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2018: Key player battles to watch out for

New Delhi | By
Sep 23, 2018 01:14 PM IST

There are interesting subplots in the match and how they play out could well determine the eventual result of the match. We take a look at the important player battles in the match.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will come face-to-face for the second time in the tournament, when the two teams clash against each other in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2018 in Dubai on Sunday.

India's Shikhar Dhawan, left, interacts with Pakistan's Hasan Ali during the one day international cricket match of Asia Cup between India and Pakistan in Dubai(AP)
India's Shikhar Dhawan, left, interacts with Pakistan's Hasan Ali during the one day international cricket match of Asia Cup between India and Pakistan in Dubai(AP)

Both teams won their respective first matches in the Super Four and will look to take a step further towards sealing a place in the final. As for Pakistan, they will also look to avenge their eight-wicket defeat by India in the group stage, earlier in the tournament.

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There are interesting subplots in the match and how they play out could well determine the eventual result of the match. We take a look at the important player battles in the match -

Rohit Sharma vs Mohammad Amir

After putting on a sub-par show in the first match against Hong Kong, India skipper Rohit Sharma has been in good touch and has slammed back-to-back fifties in the tournament. But in the next match, he will have to contend with Mohammed Amir once more, who was rested for Pakistan’s Super Four clash against Afghanistan and will be raring to have another crack at the Indian top-order.

The two face come face-to-face In the past, where Amir has managed to dismiss Rohit once in ODIs and twice in T20Is.

“He is just a normal bowler, on that given day if he is good, he is good. It is not as if he turns up and blows everyone away,” Rohit Sharma had said before India met Pakistan in the 2016 Asia Cup.

Amir went on to dismiss Rohit in that match and then accounted for him in the final of the Champions Trophy in 2017 as well.

Also Read: India’s predicted XI for the super 4 clash against Pakistan

Shikhar Dhawan vs Usman Khan

Like Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan too has been in good form and currently is the leading run-scorer of the tournament. As for Usman Khan, he hasn’t had the best of tournament so far as he has scalped just three wickets in as many matches. But his ability to swing the ball might come in handy against Dhawan.

In the first match, Usman bowled ten deliveries to Dhawan and the southpaw could hit just four runs and there were six dots as well. So, the onus will be on Usman once again to contain Dhawan early on and stop him from giving India a flying start in the match.

Hasan Ali vs MS Dhoni

Hasan Ali had a rather poor outing against India in the first match where he conceded 33 runs in four overs and so, the star pacer will now look for an improved show in this clash. Ali usually is introduced into the attack in the middle overs and it could be the case that he will come up against MS Dhoni, whom he has dismissed once in the past — the Champions Trophy 2017 final.

“The last time I took three wickets in the Champions Trophy final, my favourite was MS Dhoni’s wicket. I am looking forward to bowling against him again,” Hasan Ali said before the tournament.

Also Read: Wasim Akram compares Shoaib Malik to MS Dhoni – Here’s why

Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Fakhar Zaman

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been arguably the best Indian pacer in the tournament so far. With six wickets in 3 matches, Bhuvi stands third in the list of highest wicket-takers in the Asia Cup 2018. The right-handed pacer did ever so well by getting rid of both the openers in the last match against Pakistan and set the tone of an emphatic victory.

As for the southpaw Fakhar Zaman, he will look to set the record straight against Bhuvi, whom he fell to in the last match for a duck. Not just in the last match, but previously also, Zaman has failed to score freely against Bhuvneshwar. In total, Zaman has scored just seven runs off 20 deliveries against Bhuvneshwar and has been dismissed once by the India pacer.

Jasprit Bumrah vs Imam-ul-Haq

India’s other new-ball bowler Jasprit Bumrah too has been in good form in the tournament as he has scalped five wickets in two matches thus far. Imam-ul-Haq will once again be entrusted with the job of opening the innings for Pakistan, meaning he will come up against the Bumrah once again.

Imam was dismissed for a duck in the last match against India and will look to make amends in this clash but doing so against the wily Indian pacer won’t be an easy task that’s for sure.

Ravindra Jadeja vs Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik loves the Indian bowling attack and scores runs for fun against the bowling attack. In 40 matches against India, Malik has scored 1704 runs at an average of 47.33. Even in the last match, he scored a masterful 43 before getting run-out.

He will have to face the variation and guile of Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh in the last match, on his return to ODI cricket. Jadeja may have said after the match that he has nothing to prove but he must also know that big performances against top teams will go a long way in helping him seal a place in the squad for the World Cup.

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