Asia Cup 2023: Pakistan vs India, Game 3 – Dafanews Match Preview

The much-awaited contest between arch-rivals – Pakistan and India – will take place at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele on Saturday. India will aim to make a winning start to their Asia Cup campaign whereas Pakistan will look to continue the good show after smashing Nepal by 238 runs.

It was a nail-biting contest when these two big cricketing nations met in the T20 World Cup 2022. Virat Kohli was the star of the show as he pulled India to victory from the jaws of defeat. We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Current form for India: W L W L L

India’s middle order will be under scrutiny and batters like Shreyas Iyer, and Suryakumar Yadav will look to grab their chances. Furthermore, the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami is a big boost for the Rohit Sharma-led team.

Current form for Pakistan: W W W W L

Pakistan came up with a dominating performance against Nepal in their opening match. Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed were brilliant with the bat as both of them scored centuries. Pakistan’s fast bowling unit will hold the key against India.

Head to Head: Matches: 132, Won by Pakistan: 73, Won by India: 55, NR: 4.

Pakistan clearly holds the advantage against India in the H2H battle.

Players to look out for: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav, and Hardik Pandya will hold the key for Team India.

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Haris Rauf will hold the key for Pakistan.

India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (backup).

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve).