Asia Cup: India look to continue dominance against Pakistan

Agencies
September 23, 2018

Dubai, Sept 23: India will be looking to dominate arch-rival Pakistan once again and book their place in the finals of the ongoing Asia Cup, as the two sides face off in what promises to be another enthralling clash in their Super Fours fixture at the Dubai International Stadium here on Sunday.

India will be eyeing a final berth in the prestigious tournament after winning three games in as many matches, while Pakistan will be looking to step up their game after a massive scare against Afghanistan in their previous match.

On September 19, India brushed aside Pakistan by eight wickets in the group stage after the bowlers and batsmen produced a clinical display to make short work of Sarfraz Ahmed's team.

Even without their regular skipper Virat Kohli, the top order led by stand-in captain Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have scored plenty of runs, with the middle order also chipping in.

Even bowlers, especially the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have impressed with the ball, making life tough for the opposition batsmen. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who made a comeback to the team, also dished out a splendid performance to rip through Bangladesh's batting line-up.

On the other hand, Pakistan will be looking to put aside their disappointing performance against India in the last match and giving the Men in Blue a tough competition.

Apart from India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will be eyeing a winning start in the Super Fours stage at Abu Dhabi, when they face off for the second time on Sunday. Afghanistan had trounced the Tigers by 136 runs in their group stage game last week.

Following are the India and Pakistan squads for the match:

India- Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan- Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Sarfraz Ahmed (c and wk), Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan. 

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News Network
May 27,2020

Bengaluru, May 27: Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that he was never able to dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq in the nets.

The Rawalpindi Express praised the former Pakistan skipper and said Inzamam could see the ball one second earlier than the rest of the batsmen could.

"Honestly, I don't think I could ever get him (Inzamam) out, he had the time and I always felt he saw the ball a second earlier than the rest of the batsmen because I had a complicated action unlike Brett Lee, I felt I could never dismiss Inzamam-ul-Haq," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I couldn't get him out in the nets, I think he could see the ball a second before anyone else," he added.

Inzamam played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs for Pakistan.

He finished his career with 20,569 runs across all formats.

The right-handed batsman called time on his career in 2007 and he played his last Test against South Africa in Lahore.

On the other hand, Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

The Rawalpindi Express last played an ODI in 2011 as he played against New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup.

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News Network
June 12,2020

New Delhi, Jun 12: The BCCI on Friday called off Indian cricket team's short tour of Zimbabwe in August due to the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement was on expected lines after Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Thursday that India's limited overs tour in June-July was postponed indefinitely.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced that the Indian Cricket Team will not travel to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe owing to the current threat of COVID-19," BCCI secetary Jay Shah said in a statement.

"Team India was originally scheduled to travel to the island nation from 24th June 2020 for three ODIs and as many T20Is and to Zimbabwe for a series comprising three ODIs starting 22nd August 2020," Shah added.

The Indian team is yet to resume training and the camp is unlikely to take place before July. The players will take around six weeks to be match-ready.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: India captain Virat Kohli indicated at dropping himself down the batting order to accommodate both Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul in the playing XI against Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series starting Tuesday.

With vice-captain Rohit Sharma an automatic pick, the team management is left with tough choice of selecting either Dhawan or Rahul in the XI. But the skipper sees no reason why both can't play together.

"Look, a guy in form is always good for the team. ...You obviously want to have the best players available and then chose from what the combination should be for the team. There might be a possibility that all three (Rohit, Shikhar and Rahul) might play. It will be interesting to see what balance we want to take in on the field," Kohli said on the eve of the match.

Asked if he would he be happy to bat lower down the order, Virat said,"Yeah, big possibility. I would be very happy to do so. Look I am not possessive about where I play. I am not insecure about where I bat," said the skipper.

For Kohli, it is more important as to what kind of leadership legacy he leaves behind rather than chase personal glory.

"Being the captain of the team, it is my job to make sure that the next lot is also ready. A lot of the other people might not look at it that way, but your job as a captain is not only to look after the team right now, but also to prepare a team that you leave behind when you eventually pass it onto someone else," he added.

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