The most-awaited moment is almost here as the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match between India and Pakistan will be played on Sunday in Colombo. All the fans were left heartbroken after the group stage match between the arch-rivals got washed out due to heavy rainfall in Kandy. Since then, the Rohit Sharma-led side has faced Nepal and defeated them by 10 wickets. On the other hand, the Babar Azam-led side went against Bangladesh in their first Super Four match and defeated them by seven wickets.
As both the teams will now be squaring off against each other once again, let’s see that which team has got an upper hand over the other:
Head to Head
India and Pakistan have faced each other 133 times in the 50-over format. Out of those matches, Pakistan have won 73 while India have won 55.
Top Performances
Pakistan’s most prolific batter in the ongoing Asia Cup in Fakhar Zaman with a total of 207 runs. While for India, this position is held by skipper Rohit Sharma, who has smashed a whopping total of 731 runs. In terms of individual scores, Zaman once again stands out for Pakistan with his knock of 114 against India during the Champions Trophy final in 2017. On the other hand, Virat Kohli holds the position for India with his magnificent knock of 183 against Pakistan in 2012.
In bowling, Shadab Khan has scalped four wickets while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has got 10 wickets. Pacer Shaheen Afridi has registered the best bowling figures of 4/35 for Pakistan during the group stage match against India in Asia Cup 2023. While for India, Mohammed Shami registered the best figures of 4/35 against Pakistan in 2015.
Best win percentage
As a team: Pakistan (82%) and India (69%) have the best win percentage in ODIs since 2022. Apart from that, both the teams also have the best win percentage amongst visiting nations in Sri Lanka in ODIs.
As a captain:In the ODI format, Babar Azam has got an edge over Rohit Sharma as he has registered 18 wins in 23 matches, since 2022 while India skipper Rohit Sharma has got 13 victories in 19 matches.
Indian opening pair
Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put on a convincing 147 runs opening stand to register a 10 wicket in the last game against Nepal. The duo has started to open the innings for Team India and put on 845 runs in 10 innings which is most by a pair for any wicket in 2023.
Apart from this, as an opening pair Rohit and Gill average 93.9 which is the best by an Indian opening pair in a calendar year in ODIs with min. 500 runs.
Pakistan’s opening pair
The opening batters Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq have contributed consistently in Pakistan’s batting success upfront in ODIs. Both the batters have paired up nearly 2500 runs together – the second most by any opening pair for Pakistan in ODIs.
Pace department
Rohit and other Indian batters will be wary of the high-paced incoming deliveries of Shaheen Shah Afridi, but the Pakistan bowling unit has other equally explosive performers.
Haris Rauf, with his express pace, is currently topping the Asia Cup bowling chart with 9 wickets from three matches, and seemed to have emerged from the shadows of Afridi (7 wickets).
While Naseem Shah also has taken 7 wickets, ensuring no let off point for opposition batters.
Pakistan has an edge on paper in this department, but India will believe that they have the ammunition to strike back in kind.
The return of Jasprit Bumrah, who skipped the league match against Nepal, will bolster India’s bowling, while Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur can play the efficient support cast role.
Stats of Team India in 2023 (ODIs)
Batting
Bowlers
Stats of Team Pakistan in 2023 (ODIs)
Batting
Bowlers
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