A captain with a new batting philosophy and a master batter standing at the crossroads, trying to reinvent himself, will aim to create a new narrative when India get ready to settle scores with Pakistan in the marquee Asia Cup 2022 match in Dubai on Sunday. (Match Blog | More Cricket News)
Star Sports Network have the broadcast rights for the Asia Cup 2022 match. The India vs Pakistan encounter can be seen live on Start Sports channels from 7:30 PM IST. The IND vs PAK live scorecard can be found HERE and ball-by-ball commentary HERE. This will be Virat Kohli's 100th T20 international.
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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been the two pillars of India's white-ball team for the past decade but having received a rude jolt at this very venue 10 months back during the T20 World Cup, the duo exactly know where it stands and what it need to do to turn the tables.
While Rohit will be eager to test his ultra-aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Kohli it will be the perfect platform to return to form after enduring a tough phase in the last few years. There would be a bigger picture also and that is to set the core combination for the T20 World Cup in Australia in order by the end of this tournament.
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The last time India played Pakistan, they didn't have any idea how much Shaheen Shah Afridi had improved. The result was a 10-wicket defeat. However, on Sunday, there will be no Afridi, who has been ruled out due to knee injury.
Rishabh Pant-Rohit pair showed a lot of promise with its gung-ho approach and Suryakumar Yadav at the top looked menacing with his all-round strokes. Deepak Hooda, although against Ireland, was audacious as an opener but with Kohli and KL Rahul available, it will be experience that will get first preference going into a high-profile game.
In the new set-up, KL Rahul is coming back up after a surgery and COVD-19 related lay-off. He hasn't played a single international T20 game in 2022. A lot, however, will depend on how the trio of Suryakumar, Pant and Hardik Pandya perform between overs 10 and 20.
The trio with its explosive strength can perhaps take the Afridi-less Pakistan attack to cleaners with designated finisher Dinesh Karthik likely to sit out. On the other hand, Babar Azam is very different from some of the Pakistani greats who have led the national team over the years.
Along with Mohammed Rizwan, he forms a formidable combination at the top but both have respective strike-rates of less than 130. It worked wonders when they chased a modest total in Dubai last year but will it work when they bat first.
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While Fakhar Zaman at No. 3 also lends solidity, the rest of the batters haven't shown enough consistency. The likes of flamboyant Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Haider Ali are good players but have little to show at the international level in terms of regular runs.
If missing Afridi is a big setback for Pakistan, not having Jasprit Bumrah is no less a blow for India. In his absence (back injury) and with dependable T20 bowler Harshal Patel (rib-cage injury) also missing out, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have a young death overs specialist Arshdeep Singh for company.
India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022 Match Details
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Match: IND vs PAK, 2nd Match, Group A;
Date: August 28 (Sunday), 2022;
Time: 7:30 PM IST/6:00 PM Local;
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE.
India vs Pakistan, T20 Head-To-Head
Surprisingly, India and Pakistan have met only nine times since 2007 in T20s. India have won six matches while Pakistan emerged victorious just twice. One game ended in a tie.
How To Watch India Vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022 Cricket Match In India?
Star Sports Network have the broadcast rights of the Asia Cup 2022 in India. Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 HD Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada will live telecast the India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2022 Group A match from 7:30 PM IST. DD Sports will also live telecast the Asia Cup 2022. Live streaming of India vs Pakistan will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
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Elsewhere...
Afghanistan: Ariana TV; Australia: YuppTV; Bangladesh: Gazi TV (GTV), Channel 9, BTV National; Canada: YuppTV; Hong Kong: Star Sports; MENA Countries: OSN Sports; New Zealand: YuppTV; Pakistan: PTV Sports, Ten Sports; South Africa: SuperSport; Sri Lanka: SLRC (Channel Eye); UK And USA: Hotstar.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), 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, Avesh Khan.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammed Hasnain, Hasan Ali
