Both the teams have already qualified for the next stage of the tournament, Super Four, but their storied rivalry, unrivalled like any other, will make sure that Wednesday's Asia Cup match-up in Dubai will be not just another cricket match.
In June last year, Pakistan pulled off one their biggest wins over India in recent times, in the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Since then, they have grown in stature with the infusion of young bloods, who now claim that they are favourites in this fixture - which is historically loaded heavily in the favour of India.
But what about India's an otherwise brilliant record against the arch rivals in the ICC sanctioned tournaments. Their failure in London last year was one blip, for sure. And they will go all out to make it stop from becoming a trend. Now, especially, after their nervy win against the Associate team Hong Kong, Men in Blue will be more than eager to set the record straight.
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Rohit Sharma & Co would be hungrier than ever before. For the skipper, known for big scores in ODI cricket, this match is the perfect setting to prove his worth not just as a batsman, but also the leader who can step up when the chips are down.
But there are issues galore for India. But the most important one, needing immediate attention, is the middle order crisis, with former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the centre of everything, literally everything. He flopped big time, but the Ranchi-man is known for making his presence felt the stakes are high. And there is no bigger setting other than a India-Pakistan match.
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India have lost two of their last five matches, against England. But Pakistan are unbeaten in their five matches. But since their meeting in the Champions Trophy final, Pakistan have only played 15 ODIs, winning 10 and losing five while India have played 31, winning 23 and losing eight.
Date: September 19, 2018 (Wednesday)
Time: 5:00 PM IST
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
Predicted XIs:
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya/Khaleel Ahmed
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam Ul Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali
Squads:
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c/wk), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan, Shan Masood, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Nawaz, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Afridi
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik (wk), MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah
