India face a stiff task at the Mirpur Stadium when they take on defending champions Pakistan in a vital Asia Cup group match.
Having begun well with an easy victory over Bangladesh India faltered against Sri Lanka on Friday which has left them with a mountain to climb.
Virat Kohli and co need to regroup quickly as they go into a make or break match against their arch-rivals.
With back-to-back victories over Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka have virtually assured themselves of a berth in the final, and now it’s a two-way battle between the traditional rivals to be the other finalists in the five-nation tournament.
Ordinarily, as has been the case throughout the recent history of the two sides, this would be billed as a clash between India’s batsmen and Pakistan’s bowlers. Those are still the respective teams’ strong suits, but an inexperienced middle-order might put India at a disadvantage in that particular mini-contest.
Pakistan will also be playing an India side that could be a little low on confidence, having won only one out of their last nine completed ODI matches.
Both teams go into the match on an even keel, a win and one loss each, but Pakistan have a slight edge as they have a bonus point in their kitty from their win against associate nation Afghanistan.
For India, it was Virat Kohli’s sparkling century that did the job against Bangladesh, while for Pakistan Umar Akmal’s timely ton lifted them against Afghanistan.
The new look middle order’s lack of execution is a concern for India and the team management might think of including Cheteshwar Pujara to bring in some solidity.
Test specialist Pujara might not be a hard-hitting batsman but he would be capable of providing the much needed stability, which was lacking against Sri Lanka.
Pujara and fast bowler Varun Aaron were the only two players who trained on Saturday while other members of the squad stayed put at the team hotel.
Aaron hardly covered himself in glory against Bangladesh, and was replaced by all-rounder Stuart Binny for the Sri Lanka match.
Binny, in that game, was out for a duck and only bowled four overs.
The pitch at Mirpur might prompt India to go back to having a genuine third seamer which could see Aaron make a return.
Pakistan are also struggling with their batting. Most of their batsmen looked good out in the middle in their first two games, but nearly all of them threw their wickets away with silly shots or, in the case of their captain Misbah-ul-Haq, a comedy run-out.
After their match against Afghanistan, Misbah said the batsmen couldn’t afford to keep repeating the same mistakes, but indicated he would keep faith in the same batting order.
Pakistan’s top-order hasn’t been consistent, and Shahid Afridi, in his current avatar, seems to be occupying a place too high in the batting order, but they are unlikely to make any changes from their eleven against Afghanistan.
Misbah said: “It’s always a big challenge playing against India because there is so much interest in the game. India are a formidable side and we have to be at our best to win. We may not have played each other much recently, but I know it will be an exciting match.”
Misbah will be banking upon his pacers Junaid Khan and the experienced Umar Gul to make inroads into the Indian batting line-up on a pitch where fast bowlers have fared better.
The quick bowlers have taken 509 wickets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in 70 one-day internationals while spinners have claimed 449 wickets. T
heir spin department is also well stocked with the trio of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi.
