Asia Cup 2022: India vs Pakistan – Dafanews Match Preview

There is just something different when India and Pakistan take on each other on a cricket field. Given both countries’ history and political differences, there is always a high excitement when these two take on each other.

As the sub-continent neighbors don’t face each other frequently due to political pressure, the euphoria of cricket aficionados is unmatched when the big match is around the corner.

We take a look at the current form, head to head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Current form of India: W W W L W

India has won its last three T20I series against Ireland, England, and West Indies. The Rohit Sharma-led team has won four out of their last five matches and they will enter the contest with high confidence. However, some of the big players like KL Rahul and Virat Kohli haven’t played much in the recent past and it could be a concern for the team.

Current form of Pakistan: L W W W W

Interestingly, Pakistan hasn’t played a lot of T20 cricket since the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, where they had qualified for the semifinals. The Men in Green have played seven matches since the T20I showpiece and have registered six wins against depleted teams like Bangladesh and the West Indies. Ergo, the game time could be a major issue for Pakistan.

Head to Head: Matches – 9, Won by India – 7, Won by Pakistan – 2.

India clearly holds the advantage against Pakistan in head-to-head battle.

Players to look out for: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumara and Yuzvendra Chahal will hold the key for India.

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, and Naseem Shah will be crucial players for Pakistan.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

Standby: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Hasnain.