Sunday special: India vs Pakistan in the Super 4s
Dubai, September 3
India’s famed top-order would be desperate for course-correction while the bowling attack could be rejigged as India aim for an encore against Pakistan in their Asia Cup Super 4s clash tomorrow.
If the top-order’s Powerplay philosophy is a problem, the inexperience of Avesh Khan at the death is no less a worry. The team management may, thus, need to revamp the bowling attack against a strong Pakistan side that thrashed Hong Kong by 155 runs in its last match. With Ravindra Jadeja unavailable, Axar Patel seems a straightforward replacement but the team combination does take a hit in the absence of the Saurashtra all-rounder.
In the last game against Pakistan, head coach Rahul Dravid promoted Jadeja to No. 4 to keep the left-right combination going in the top-six as Rishabh Pant was dropped from the playing XI. It remains to be seen if skipper Rohit Sharma and Dravid will repeat this gamble. Last Sunday, it was Hardik Pandya’s one-man show that got India over the line in a thrilling last-over finish. — PTI
3Three of Rohit’s eight T20I innings against Pakistan have seen him dismissed within the first two balls.
4 Pakistan have lost their last four Asia Cup matches, across formats, to India. On each of those four occasions, India batted second.
9 Of 14 completed games between the two sides in the tournament, India have won nine.
Jadeja out of T20 WC
New Delhi: India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is all set to miss the T20 World Cup in Australia as he will undergo a major knee surgery which is expected to keep him out of action for an indefinite period of time.
Blow for Pakistan
Dubai: Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani has been ruled out of tomorrow’s marquee Super 4s clash against arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup here due to a suspected side strain. Pakistan have two pacers — Mohammad Hasnain and Hasan Ali — and a spinner in Usman Qadir on the bench as potential replacements for Dahani. PTI
Superb plotting sees SL down Afghanistan
Sharjah: Sri Lankan batters showed enormous tactical acumen in yet another tricky run-chase as they defeated Afghanistan by four wickets in the opening Super 4 game of the Asia Cup here today. It was a fantastic bowling effort at the death that saw Sri Lanka restrict the Afghans to 175/6 with only 37 runs coming in the last five overs despite a brilliant 84 off 45 balls by Rahamanullah Gurbaz. In reply, Sri Lanka chased down the target in 19.1 overs with several impactful contributions that sealed the issue for them. This was the highest run-chase in a T20I at Sharjah. file
