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The Asia Cup 2023 promises a blockbuster showdown on Saturday as India faces off against arch-rivals Pakistan. The meetings between both teams are confined to continental and global (ICC) tournaments, and the Saturday’s clash marks their first in the fifty-over format since the 2019 World Cup. Since then, Pakistan, under captain Babar Azam, has produced impressive performances against India and have won two in four T20I matches against their arch-rivals.
Pakistan enter the match on a high note, having secured a resounding 238-run win in the Asia Cup opener against Nepal. One of the most captivating aspects of this match is the match-up between India’s star-studded batting lineup and Pakistan’s formidable pace attack. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, the comeback-man Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, and Shubman Gill among others will go head-to-head against some of the fiercest pacers in world cricket in Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf.
In the past couple of years, the Pakistan pacers have posed significant difficulties for the Indian batters. The T20 World Cup last year saw Pakistan reducing India to 31/4 in the 160-run chase before Virat Kohli delivered a batting masterclass to rescue India in Melbourne. In 2021, Babar’s men registered a 10-wicket win after restricting India to 151/7 in 20 overs.
As such, one of the biggest challengers for Indian batters is to successfully take down the Pakistan pace trio, and former India opener Gautam Gambhir had a message for openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill ahead of the high-octane clash. Gambhir urged both openers to not be conservative and adopt a positive approach as they take the field on Saturday.
“Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, your approach has to be clear against Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah. Look at scoring runs, not surviving. When you score runs, you are in better rhythm and have better backlift and footwork,” Gambhir said on Star Sports’ Game Plan.
“Often, people talk about Shaheen and Naseem troubling the Indian batters in the World Cup. But it’s all in the past now. ODI is a different format, batters have time to settle into the crease. It’s important to bat in positions where if you get a half-volley, you look to hit it, not just survive. The more positive you are, the more you create pressure. Keep it simple, past is in the past. It’s a new day, new match, different format. Be in attacking mode,” said the former India opener further.
Pakistan unchanged
After the dominant victory against Nepal, Pakistan have opted to maintain their winning combination by making no changes to their playing XI. The side, just like before the Asia Cup opener, announced their XI a day before the Saturday clash.
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