Shaneer N Siddiqui Dubai 26 Aug : India will begin their Asia Cup campaign with a high-voltage match against the arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The last time these two sides played in the T20 World Cup in October last year, Pakistan had thrashed India by 10 wickets.
With scores to be settled on Sunday and the match to be decided on Sunday, the Men in Blue looked determined and positive when they struck the nets in advance of the big game here on Friday.
All eyes were focused on Virat Kohli who is suffering from a long periods of leanness despite the high standards he established for himself.
The former India captain spent a lot of period in the nets making big shots at spinners and sometimes struggling against quicker bowlers, led Bhubaneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh.
Skipper Rohit Sharma and K.L.Rahul were also in good shape, hitting some powerful shots.In the context of Pakistan’s speed attack the Indian bowlers were bowling lots of short balls, which were well negotiated by batters.In the manner Arshdeep Singh bowled in the nets, it appears that India will enter the game with three seamers.
Due to the dry weather conditions in Dubai, India might play three pacers, including Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwina with Ravindra Jadeja as the third spinner.It would be interesting find out what happens if India play an all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the role of third seamer.
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