All eyes will be on arch-rivals India and Pakistan who will take on each other in their Asia Cup 2022 campaign opener on Sunday, August 28, 2022, evening at the Dubai International Stadium. An extravaganza whenever the two teams are playing each other, but this time Team India will have extra motivation to beat their Pakistani counterparts, following a humiliating defeat when they met in their previous match last year.

India was defeated by 10 wickets by Pakistan in their last meeting, which took place in the T20 World Cup in 2021. Incidentally, the match was played at the Dubai International Stadium in UAE as well, the venue for Sunday’s fixture. India will have revenge in mind but it will be up to Pakistan whether they will bow down or put up a fight to come out victorious.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: When and where to watch India vs Pakistan, live streaming and other details

Apart from the opening match, the Asia Cup 2022 will have at least two more instances where the duo can face each other. Let’s take a look at the preview of the match here.

Head to head:

Since the last bilateral series between India and Pakistan in 2013, the two sides have met 12 times, four of which have come in the Asia Cup. The Asian giants have played only Ireland and Afghanistan fewer times in this period, who are full ICC members.

India has met Pakistan 13 times in the Asia Cup in their history and leads 8-5. 

Recent form

In their last five T20I matches, both India and Pakistan have won four and lost one. India has faced the West Indies in all of these five matches, while Pakistan has played against the West Indies and Bangladesh.

Team news

India

India has announced a relatively changed squad from the last time these behemoths faced each other for the Asia Cup 2022. Ace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel have picked up injuries and have been ruled out of the Asia Cup. Meanwhile, Pakistan will also be missing an important figure in left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi, who was the star of the previous match against India. 

Pakistan will also be missing Imad Wasim and Mohammad Wasim. Hasan Ali has replaced injured Mohammad Wasim in the squad.

Also Read: Watch: Rishabh Pant and Shaheen Afridi joke around before Asia Cup tie

India could start with the same top order from the T20 World Cup defeat against Pakistan. However, they have unearthed several top batters since the defeat and one of them, Deepak Hooda, is part of the squad. Virat Kohli, who has been going through a lean patch, has been recalled to the squad and is expected to start. While Kohli is likely to start at no.3, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are expected to open, which leaves the middle order.

Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya were in fine form against England last month in the T20Is and are expected to get the nod against Pakistan. However, while Rishabh Pant has been one of India’s best batters in the last year and a half and Dinesh Karthik has emerged once again as a specialist finisher, the dilemma will be who between these two will start. Pant is the only left-handed batter in the India squad, which gives him the edge, but Karthik’s monstrous form in the IPL points otherwise.

Indian bowling, on the other hand, has been changed heavily. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal are certain to start. Arshdeep Singh is the only left-arm quick in the squad. Avesh Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin will fight for the last spot.

Pakistan

Pakistan has a settled batting order and there is no reason to experiment with it. However, they will face a challenge with the bowling department since two of their ace bowlers are out. Shadab Khan can act as a wrist spinner, which will mean it’s likely that Mohammad Nawaz will start ahead of Usman Qadir. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are likely to start too with Shahnawaz Dahani leapfrogging Mohammad Hasnain to start.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: Virat Kohli’s top five innings against Pakistan

Predicted lineups:

India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shahnawaz Dahani, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah