India vs Pakistan: India’s Middle-Order Under the Scanner Ahead of Pakistan Tie

India vs Pakistan: In KL Rahul's absence, India will need to come up with an alternative solution for middle-order.

Asia Cup 2023: India and Pakistan will square off on 2 September.

Photo: PTI

In the cool and serene surroundings of Sri Lanka, fans from around the world will witness another chapter being added to the India-Pakistan rivalry, when the two neighbours clash in a Group A match of the 2023 Asia Cup at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, 2 August.

In India’s opening match of the Asia Cup, they will be without wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul due to a niggle unrelated to his thigh injury, which has kept him out of action since May. Though they have a like-to-like reserve player in Sanju Samson, it seems that Ishan Kishan could bat in the middle-order to fill in for Rahul’s absence.

Ishan Kishan is likely to bat in the middle-order.

Though Kishan hit three consecutive fifties in ODIs against West Indies in July, the top three of Shubman Gill, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been set in stone for the foreseeable future. Especially with the ICC ODI World Cup being around the corner, it is unlikely that Kishan will be provided a place in the top three for this match.

Moreover, Kishan brings in the left-handedness in the middle-order, something which India have missed and can be sandwiched between right-handers Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav. If Kishan bats in the middle order, he will have to improve on his average of only 21.2 at number four, and overcome his struggles against spinners as well as in rotating the strike.

Amidst the middle-order headache, India will be glad that Iyer is back into the national scheme after overcoming an excruciating back injury, which needed surgery and rehab. His return solves India’s concerns at number four, with Iyer’s ability to use his feet and dominate the spinners taking the team’s charge in middle-overs batting. India also will be keen to see how Hardik Pandya does in the role of a finisher.

Options Aplenty for India in Bowling Department

On the bowling front, the long-awaited return of Jasprit Bumrah and his testing the likes of Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan will be keenly witnessed.

If selected, Axar Patel will offer a handy third spin option.

India will need to see who between Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will be joining Bumrah in leading the charge with pace. Regarding the composition of their spin attack, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will be the front runners, but if conditions aid more spin, then Axar Patel can come into play too.

Pace Trio and Babar Azam To Lead Pakistan’s Attack

It’s a no-brainer that India’s batting will be largely tested by the Pakistan fiery pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf in the early part of their innings with the bat. In their unique ways, the trio provide fire, pace and variety to rattle the batters, with leg-spin and left-arm spin duo of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz to complement them.

Babar Azam scored 151 runs in the first game against Nepal.

With the bat, Azam scored his 19th ODI century in the opening game of the Asia Cup against Nepal under testing conditions in Multan and was ably supported by power-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed’s first international century. Pakistan would be hoping that their other batters like Rizwan, Imam and Fakhar Zaman come to the party against India’s bowlers.