Whether it rains again or not, both India and Pakistan will be having the overhead conditions in mind when they resume their rivalry in the Super 4s stage of this Asia Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
For sure the two teams wouldn’t want to split points again as that could well bring the net run rate into play before the decider on September 17.
Saturday’s Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Super 4s game in Colombo went uninterrupted as the skies looked brighter. But for Sunday (as well as Monday, the last-minute worked-out reserve day for this India-Pakistan clash), there’s a forecast for rain in the Sri Lankan capital.
The group-phase clash between the arch-rivals was promising to be an exciting contest till rain washed out the second half after India, opting to bat first, were all out for 266. Compared to how it was in Pallekele, the Colombo weather does seem better with humidity being a concern.
KL Rahul in Colombo. Twitter
No matter how the weather turns out to be, the contest will once again primarily be between India’s batsmen and Pakistan’s fast bowling group led by Shaheen Shah Afridi. In Pallekele, the left-arm speedster had rocked India’s top order by cleaning up captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli with pace and movement besides creating doubts in the batter’s mind.
Given Shaheen’s quality, he can get the ball to move even on flat wickets, which was seen earlier in the competition. So, whether India bat first or second, negotiating Shaheen with the new ball is one task they have to accomplish.
Not just Shaheen, even Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf will pose tough tests that the Indian batting line-up needs to clear.
Barring Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, who put some pressure back on Pakistan in the previous meeting with their 138-run fifth-wicket partnership, almost all others had a hard time against Pakistan’s pace trio.
Kishan and Pandya hardly faced any problems against spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz in that game. So in this Super 4s clash, Pakistan may be tempted to continue with their seam bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf in place of left-armer Nawaz.
How Pakistan’s batting line-up, which looks quite sorted, tackles India’s bowling attack certainly remains to be seen.
With Jasprit Bumrah having rejoined the unit after having left for the birth of
his first child, the bowling group should be feeling much more confident after conceding 230 runs against lower-ranked Nepal.
Bumrah’s return means either Shardul Thakur or Mohammed Shami will sit out.
Also, KL Rahul batted for around 40 minutes during India’s optional training session on Saturday. Is that an indication of his return to the XI?
If Rahul returns, whom does he replace? Over to the team management.
