India vs Pakistan: India will be hoping Hardik Pandya's hamstring problem isn't too bad so he can play in Sunday's Asia Cup final against Pakistan. With the Men in Blue winning both of their previous meetings—in the Group and the Super Four stage—this will be the third time the two bitter rivals will face each other in this Asia Cup.
With Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube set to return after being rested for the last Super Four match against Sri Lanka, India are anticipated to field their strongest XI.
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During the Sri Lanka game, Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma experienced cramps and spent extended periods of time off the field. It is anticipated that Tilak and Abhishek would be fit. A decision about Hardik's status is anticipated to be made closer to the game.
India will find it difficult to replace Pandya if he is not fit. It makes perfect sense to play Arshdeep Singh, who helped India defeat Sri Lanka in the Super Over, but doing so will sacrifice batting depth, which India can compensate for by using only one leg-spinner. After the spin twins helped India tie the match against Sri Lanka, it's unclear if India will do so. However, the choices and pairings could have a cascading effect.
After discovering their most balanced line-up late in the competition, Pakistan is probably going to enter the match unaltered. After Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill stole the show with their century stand the previous time, the bowling order would aim for early wickets.
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Since both of Gill's dismissals in this tournament have been off full-length fast deliveries seaming in, he now appears to be the more vulnerable of the two openers.
With Suryakumar Yadav having been out to Haris Rauf three times in T20Is, the middle-order matchup between India's captain and Pakistan's pacer would be intriguing.
India and Pakistan have clashed in 12 tournament finals across formats, with Pakistan holding an 8-4 edge — their most recent win being the 180-run triumph in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
India vs Pakistan Head-To-Head Record in T20Is
Matches: 15
India: 11
Pakistan: 3
Tied: 0
Most runs in India vs Pakistan in T20Is
Virat Kohli (IND): 492 runs in 11 matches
Mohammad Rizwan (PAK): 228 runs in 5 matches
Shoaib Malik (PAK): 164 runs in 9 matches
Mohammad Hafeez (PAK): 156 runs in 8 matches
Yuvraj Singh (IND): 155 runs in 8 matches
Most wickets in India vs Pakistan in T20Is
Hardik Pandya (IND): 15 wickets in 9 matches
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (IND): 11 wickets in 7 matches
Umar Gul (PAK): 11 wickets in 6 matches
Haris Rauf (PAK): 9 wickets in 6 matches
Jasprit Bumrah (IND): 7 wickets in 6 matches
India vs Pakistan head-to-head record in multi-nation finals
Matches: 5
India: 3
Pakistan: 2
India vs Pakistan: History of Finals
World Championship of Cricket (1985): India won by 8 wickets
Austral-Asia Cup (1986): Pakistan won by 1 wicket
Austral-Asia Cup (1994): Pakistan won by 39 runs
T20 World Cup (2007): India won by 5 runs
ICC Champions Trophy (2017): Pakistan won by 180 runs
India Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya/Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pakistan Probable XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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