Pakistan rose to the top of the ICC ODI rankings last week following their terrific run of form this year. So, they have a lot to prove now as they have entered the Asia Cup as the No.1 ranked team. They started in prime fashion, registering a commanding 238-run victory over Nepal in the opening game of the tournament, but the spotlight now shifts towards their highly anticipated battle against arch-rivals India.
16 June, 2019. That was the last time India and Pakistan faced off in an ODI encounter and it was the grand stage of the World Cup that was being held in England. It was India who won that match by a massive margin of 89 runs, and leaving aside the Champions Trophy Final loss in 2017, it's India who has dominated in this format whenever they have locked horns.
As another Asia Cup match between the arch-rivals beckons, it's time to dissect how Pakistan stack up against India going into the encounter. Will they be able to justify their No.1 rank, or they are going to get overpowered by a mighty Indian side? We have to delve into their strengths and weaknesses to find out.
Pakistan's Babar Azam, right, plays a shot as Nepal's Aasif Sheikh watches during the one-day international cricket match of Asia Cup between Pakistan and Nepal, in Multan, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023.
(Photo: PTI)
Handling the Babar-Rizwan One-Two Punch
Pakistan's major strength is the consistency and dependability of their batting stalwarts Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. The duo has been churning out runs consistently over the years, and they will be looking to do the same in this all important match against India. Remember the India-Pakistan encounter from the 2021 T20 World Cup? Babar and Rizwan overhauled a target of 152 without breaking a sweat, and Pakistan emerged victorious by all 10 wickets.
Their recent ODI form has also been exemplary. Babar has amassed 1368 ODI runs in 21 innings since last year, going at an average of 68.40 runs per innings. That includes five centuries and 11 fifties, which means he has gone past the score of 50 in 16 out of the 21 times he has batted since last year. That's insane consistency and he bettered it further as he recorded a score of 151 in the opening encounter of this Asia Cup against Nepal.
Getting rid of Babar will be very difficult, considering the form he has been in of late. But, if India do manage to get past Babar somehow, they will still need to deal with Rizwan, who is also averaging an impressive 45.20 runs per innings since 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter looked in very good touch against Nepal before getting run out on 44, and that's why he will be determined to get a big score against India.
Shaheen Afridi has been a star bowler for Pakistan.
(Photo: Twitter/TheRealPCB)
Pakistan's Holy Trinity of Shaheen, Haris, and Rauf
While Pakistan have dependable batters like Babar and Rizwan, they also have three pacers who can tear apart any batting unit. Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah form one of the best pace bowling attacks in the world right now, and facing them even on their worst day could turn out to be a difficult task.
Naseem averages 16.15 in ODIs since 2022, the best among all pacers who have taken a minimum of 20 wickets during this period, and he is the youngest among this trio. Shaheen and Rauf are the more experienced players and they are also right up there among the best pacers since last year.
Rauf has taken the most number of wickets for Pakistan during this period, a total of 32 at an average 24.34 runs per wicket. He works as a middle-overs enforcer for Pakistan, mainly brought on to break partnerships.
Shaheen, on the other hand, has established himself as one of the best new ball bowlers in the last few years. He has claimed 25 wickets in 12 matches since last year, at an excellent average of 19.84. If you remember his match-winning spell of 3/31 against India in the 2021 T20 World Cup, then you know how big a threat he is going to be for the Indian top-order.
Very few bowlers have the capability of using the new ball like Afridi does, and facing left-arm pacers has also been India's Achilles Heel over the years. So, these three bowlers have a big role to play if they want to better Pakistan's ODI record against India.
A Batting Lineup That Runs Deep
Among the teams taking part in this Asia Cup, Pakistan's lower order (6-12) has the second best batting average (24.22) and best strike-rate (105.23). Their lower order comprises players like Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf. All of them are capable of wielding the willow except Rauf, which means Pakistan have a batting unit that runs deep until No.10.
It is a well known fact how India has struggled to clean up the tail over the years, and these numbers certainly don't bode well for their bowling attack. Pakistan's lower order has pulled off numerous rescue acts of late, and they would be confident of doing so once again if the situation demands.
Concerns, Starting With Fakhar Zaman at The Top
If you look at Fakhar Zaman's overall ODI record since last year, he hasn't done much wrong. 896 runs at an average of 44.80 and strike-rate of 88.62 are fairly good statistics for an opener in this era. But if you dive deeper, it isn't hard to understand that he hasn't done much in his recent outings.
Zaman has scores of 14, 27, 30, 2, 33, 14, and 19 in his last seven outings, adding up to a paltry 139 runs at a meagre average of 19.85. That's a shocking dip in form for a player who smashed three consecutive hundreds before encountering this wretched run of form. He was the player who landed the knockout punch on India in the 2017 Champions Trophy Final, and Pakistan would want him at his best once again in this clash against India.
A Mediocre Spin Attack
A total of six teams are taking part in this edition of the Asia Cup, and Pakistan's spin attack has the worst average (36.85) and strike-rate (41.5) among them. Wrist spinner Shadab Khan and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz form the spin bowling duo for Pakistan, with Iftikhar Ahmed being the occasional part-time spinner.
Although all three of them are very good as all-rounders, the same can't be said about their spin bowling abilities. They are average at best and don't have the skill set and guile to compete with the best spinners in the world right now. So, this spin attack would need to pull out a real rabbit out of the hat to get the better of the Indian batting unit.
While Pakistan has many strengths that could really help them in overpowering India, their weaknesses are equally significant. The fate of this battle will depend on how well they use their strengths and how well they mask their weaknesses. If they can do so, they can settle scores against India. If they can't, their arch-rivals will claim the bragging rights once again!
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