India-Pakistan rivalry to welcome a new chapter with a feisty Asia Cup clash

On Saturday, Pallekele will be lighting up with a cricketing blockbuster that has emanated countless lore over the years as two fierce rivals take on each other for the first time in Asia Cup 2023, India and Pakistan.

Both the teams will be arriving to the hallowed yard with too many expectations and this match probably precedes even the fate of the series. The last time these two teams met were in the T20 World Cup and it was Virat Kohli’s ecstatic knock at the MCG that ushered India home. However, the last time these two countries collided at the Asia Cup, India couldn’t cross the finish line.

This time, though, it is going to be an entirely different ball game as India will be coming to this game with almost a fully equipped side that will feature the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah returning to the squad while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are already in good touch.

For Pakistan they have already secured a victory in the tournament opener against Nepal as Babar Azam played a swashbuckling knock before their bowlers took over the reins.

India will be hoping to get in the groove with a victory as their fans are extremely hyped up about this age-old rivalry that probably has the most popular tributary unfurling in the 22 yards.

Venue Watch:

The venue has hosted 37 ODIs out of which 15 have been won batting first while 21 have been secured chasing. The average first innings score is 248 while the average second innings score dips down to 201. The surface is a balanced one but with the new ball, the batters will have to be careful because there will be a hint of seam early in the innings.

Head to Head:

Matches played: 132

India – 55

Pakistan – 73

Match Details:

Match – India vs Pakistan

Venue: Pallekele Stadium

Date: 2nd September, 2023

Time: 3:00 PM

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Muhammad Tayyab Tahir, Abdullah Shafique, Imam Ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Muhammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf.