Asia Cup 2023, Super Fours Match 3 | India Predicted XI vs Pakistan

image-lmbtt1ynShubman Gill has regained form in the last match against Nepal (Source: AP Photos)

We are halfway through the 2023 Asia Cup and match 3 of the Super Four stage will see one of the most awaited battles. Two Asian Giants - India and Pakistan are set to collide for the second time in the onging tournament, to be staged at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo from 3:00 PM IST, Local Time.

Rain interfered in the previous meeting between the neighbours, and the game was called off after the first innings. India batted first and piled up 266 runs thanks to the resilience of Hardik Pandya (87 off 90) and Ishan Kishan (82 off 81). After the first half, it rained continuously, and the game came to a standstill. 

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For Pakistan, they are yet to be defeated in the mega-event after having participating in three matches. They initiated the competition with a massive drubbing to Nepal, winning by 238 runs. Their next match was a stalemate against India. And in the latest of all, the Babar Azam-led unit defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in the first match of the Super Fours.

On the flip side, both matches where the Men in Blue were a part of were rain-affected. The first one being against Pakistan and the next one was against Nepal. The bowlers had to work hard to restrict the Rohit Paudel-led side to 230 runs in the first innings. In reply, they had to chase down a DLS target of 145 runs which Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma did without any hiccups.

The upcoming mega-clash is a crucial one for  India and it may determine the fate in the competition. It is important for Rohit Sharma and his boys to maintain the winning flow and so let us have a quick hover on the predicted XI for India against Pakistan.


Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill

There should be absolutely no doubt as to why skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will be opening for India. They have been doing the job for the last few months and notched up important partnerships across formats. The duo also gelled a match-winning opening stand in the last game against Nepal.


Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan 

Virat Kohli is a mainstay in the side and the no.3 spot belongs to him. Shreyas Iyer will be tested in this competition after his rehabilatation and therefore the management might be thinking to give him a longer run. The batter looked confident in shot-making against Pakistan but was a tad unlucky to get dismissed to a short ball from Haris Rauf.  And now comes the no. 5 position where Ishan Kishan has done a fabulous job. He filled the shoes of Rishabh Pant very well and the scintillating 82 off 81 against Pakistan was an epitome of that.


All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur

With rainy overhead conditions to look forward, India should be including Shardul Thakur over Axar Patel in the side. This is what they did in their last two games as well. Shardul was influential against Nepal in breaking important partnerships and offers batting depth. While Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are the two MVPs of this Indian XI and carry the all-round baggage in their shoulders. Hardik was brilliant with the bat against Pakistan while Jadeja was excellent with his left-arm orthodox spin against Nepal.


Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav

Jasprit Bumrah will be back before the Ind-Pak clash and is likely to make the cut straightaway. There will be a toss-up between Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami for the other pacer's spot and it's the latter who is likely to make it. Shami was brilliant with his seam presentation against Nepal while Siraj struggled to hit the strapping with the new ball and leaked runs. Kuldeep Yadav should be India's lead spinner in the game.


India Predicted XI vs Pakistan

Rohit Sharma (c)
Shubman Gill
Virat Kohli
Shreyas Iyer
Ishan Kishan (wk)
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Shardul Thakur
Mohammed Shami
Kuldeep Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah