Let’s be honest about it. Last time India meets Pakistan, they weren’t ready. Coming into the ICC tournament after the long IPL 2021, the Indian players were already exhausted and didn’t have much days to recover, rejuvenate. There was also no time to plan for the opponents as seen in the first game vs Pakistan. Virat Kohli-led India seemed clueless against their arch-rivals for the first time in years. India had picked the wrong side, R Ashwin made a sudden comeback and a rookie Varun Chakraborty gave a game out of the blue. Yuzvendra Chahal was also not there. The writing was on the wall and the 10-wicket loss hurt India’s chances in the competition in a big way.
But it was also a great lesson. From the day Rohit Sharma took charge of the team, he has asked the players to play with a different approach, attack and attack. Many players are fighting for the spot in the playing XI. The return of fit Hardik Pandya is also a big boost as he is now a viable bowling option. India are on the right track ahead of the 2022 edition to be played in Australia later this year.
Which one did you get?#greatest rivalry __On August 28.#believeinblue , #INDvPAK , Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar pic.twitter.com/TUxeLTqmka— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 19, 2022
Asia Cup 2022 Australia has a great tournament to warm up for the big-ticket event and if India is able to overcome this one big hurdle or solve this difficult puzzle, they will become invincible against pakistan, This is their opening bowling pair Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. In Asia Cup 2022 Confrontation, you will probably see these two opening the bowling for Pakistan. He has raw pace, hits in the right places and can startle the batsman.
Shaheen wreaked havoc in his new spell, dismissing Rohit and KL Rahul in the opening match of the T20 World Cup last year. He is famous for getting out in his first over. He comes into play ready to bowl his finest delivery in the first over to shock the opponent. And now they have got huge support from the other end. Naseem Shah seems to have developed the same killer instincts. In the 2nd ODI vs Netherlands, Naseem dismissed the openers twice in the opening over itself.
Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid need to plan to avoid this big threat that Pakistan have as if these 2 fast bowlers are having a good day, they can demolish the Indian batting lineup.
