Asia Cup 2022: Match 8 – Predicted Pakistan Playing XI vs India

The men in green completely outclassed Hong Kong in the previous match and qualified for the super fours of the Asia Cup. Be it their batting or bowling, they looked like a much improved side than that against India. In the very first match of the super four, they’ll once again lock horns with their arch-nemesis India and will hope for a win at Dubai this time.

The team will look forward to correcting their mistakes from the previous match against India. Babar Azam, the captain of the ship is yet to come to the party while Naseem Shah has been the showstopper for them. Will they make any changes to their playing XI? Let’s dissect how the team will shape up against India -

Openers – Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan

The duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan made a huge difference when India challenged them in the last T20 World Cup. Their performance against India was pretty ordinary in the previous match but will hope to return back this time.

The wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan is the leading run scorer for the team. He scored 43 off 42 balls against India while 78 runs off 57 balls against HK. However, his strike-rate is under the scanner. Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akhram called him out after the Hong Kong game and that is one area he definitely needs to improve.

That’s something one can say about Babar Azam as well. Even though the captain of the Pakistan team is not in form, he has been criticised about his strike-rate in the past. He scored just 20 runs from the two matches that he played in this edition’s Asia Cup.

Middle Order – Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali

Fakhar Zaman has got immense talent under his belt and he has proved that so far. Against Hong Kong, when the team needed some stability, Fakhar stepped up and scored 51 off 41 deliveries. The strike-rate can again be a matter of discussion but the 32-year-old can strike the ball if required.

Iftikhar Ahmed is likely to bat at number four, until and unless Pakistan need someone who can hit the ball out of the park on a consistent basis. Iftikhar didn’t get a chance to bat against Hong Kong but scored 28 off 22 against India. The 32-year-old has a career strike-rate of 133.48 in the T20Is.

Asif Ali will follow Shadab Khan in the middle order. He’s expected to bat at number seven and is known to strike the ball well. However, consistency is a bit of a problem for this 30-year-old.

All-rounders – Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz

With four wickets to his name against Hong Kong, Shadab Khan was one of the players to look out for in the previous match. He has been economical so far in the tournament and has played well so far. His batting form however will be tested. He was poor against India in the opening match and that is one area he will look to improve.

Khushdil Shah can be a bowling option for Babar Azam but he is yet to bowl in the tournament.When it comes to his batting, he played a blistering knock of 35 off 15 balls against Hong Kong. He hit four sixes in the final over of the match to help Pakistan put up a strong total in their last group stage match.

Mohammad Nawaz has been Babar Azam’s go-to bowler in the tournament. Whenever the captain needs a wicket, he’s giving the ball to Nawaz and he’s done a tremendous job so far. He picked three wickets each against India and Hong Kong and has been extremely economical so far. He did trouble the Indian batters when they last faced and thus, it is needed to be seen how the Indian batters tackle the off-spinner.

Bowlers – Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Naseem Shah

Haris Rauf went for a lot of runs in the match against India. He is yet to pick a wicket in this Asia cup as he has already given 41 runs from the five overs that he has bowled so far in the tournament.

Shahnawaz Dahani has been good so far in the tournament. He failed to pick any wicket against India but picked the all important wicket of Yasim Murtaza in the previous match. If he can maintain his line and length and vary his pace, Dahani can be a dangerous bowler in the given condition.

With Shaheen Shah Afridi ruled out of the tournament, the Pakistan fans were worried about the future of their bowling line-up. However, it didn’t last long as Naseem Shah has been very good for the team. He has picked up 4 wickets so far in the tournament and has been economical in the process. He caused a lot of trouble to the Indian batters in the first match and has the ability to it once again.