Asia Cup 2018: Match 5, India vs Pakistan - India Predicted XI

The mother of all the battles is here. India and Pakistan are locking horns in the fifth match of the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai. The outcome of this game won’t matter much as both the teams are expected to make it to the Super Four stage unless Hong Kong comes up with a miraculous performance in their ongoing game against India. But no game between the arch-rivals is a dead rubber and the rivalry will renew will once again in front of a jam-packed crowd.

Team India rested some of their players for the first game but there will be a few changes when it comes to the crunch encounter. Rohit Sharma was keen on finding a right combination in the pre-match press conference and though they will be missing Virat Kohli, he felt that this was an opportunity for the other players to put their hand up ahead of the World Cup next year.

Here we bring you India’s predicted XI for this game:

Openers (Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan)

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan should continue to open as they have been immensely successful together in the limited-overs format. The former will have to be careful early on in his innings against Pakistan though. Mohammad Amir has been his nemesis with the new ball and if he will be able to tackle him, then Rohit might score a big one against their arch-rivals.

Dhawan, on the other hand, relishes the ball coming on the bat and is known to play aggressively. He should only take care of not getting overawed about the occasion and stay calm. If he gets going, then Pakistan’s bowlers might find it tough to stop this pair from scoring big on the day.

Middle-Order (Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav)

Ambati Rayudu batted at number three against Hong Kong and deserves to get a long run at the position. He has been in some exceptional form of late and should make it count in the Asia Cup. His stay in the middle will be important given that he has the ability to rotate the strike in the middle overs. Rayudu is the favourite candidate to nail down the all-important number four slot.

Dinesh Karthik didn’t get many opportunities to showcase his prowess with the bat in the United Kingdom which might be the reason he will be a regular member in the playing XI in this tournament. Manish Pandey will have to wait for his chance and Karthik will be under pressure to hit the straps almost immediately. MS Dhoni continues to play the role of a finisher despite the fact that Kedar Jadhav will bat at six.

Dhoni has been batting slowly these days but will have to up the ante in the crunch game. The fearless Mahi will be the last thing Pakistan would want to witness in this crunch game. Jadhav is returning after the injury and after getting a feel of the conditions against Hong Kong, should play a key role in this encounter. He will also roll his arm over and will be looking to put the brakes on the run-scoring.

All-Rounder (Hardik Pandya)

Hardik Pandya will come back straight away after enjoying some rest. Shardul Thakur should make way for him and Pandya’s inclusion will right away bolster India with both bat and ball. He will be under a bit of pump though after what transpired in England recently but he won’t be bothered about it. The format changes and so do the conditions which make him the potential game-changer.

Bowlers (Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar must’ve warmed up with India’s tournament opener. A fully fit Bhuvi will have the responsibility to make some early inroads in the Pakistan line-up. The same will be expected of Jasprit Bumrah who will be brimming to make a mark. His no-ball in the final of the Champions Trophy last year made him the villain and a heroic performance might be coming from the talented bowler. Khaleel Ahmed will be the unlucky player to be left out for Bumrah.

All the eyes will be on the spin twins. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are playing against Pakistan for the first time in their career. They will be new for the opponents and even the wrist-spinners will have to make sure that they don’t put themselves under extra pressure. It will be interesting to see the way Pakistan’s batting fares against them.

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.