If there can be such a thing as a dead rubber when India and Pakistan battle it out on the cricket field then we have it at the Asia Cup when the two sides meet in Dubai on Wednesday. Both sides know they are already through so they can put on a show.
They are through because they have both beaten Hong Kong in the opening match of the tournament. Pakistan were much more convincing in doing so while India ground out a win and will want to look more impressive here.
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India
We should recognise that India decided to rest a couple of key players for their match against Hong Kong but they would not have wanted the scare they got. At one stage Hong Kong were well on course to reach their target and pull off one of the all-time ODI shocks but they fizzled out as India came on strong in the closing stages.
It goes without saying that they will have to improve dramatically on that performance but with key players back that should automatically come. You would think India would bat strongly in this match but they will need to against a Pakistan side who offer plenty with the ball. The acid test will come with the ball.
Pakistan
Pakistan got stuck into Hong Kong right from the off and never allowed them to put up anything resembling a competitive total and in the end they had absolutely no trouble in polishing off the run chase. A lack of a competitive match might not be the ideal preparation for this game but you can never substitute winning, especially for a side who rely on confidence like Pakistan.
Pakistan play their home matches in the UAE these days so they should be more familiar with the wickets. We know their bowling attack is up there with the best in the world not just this competition but the fragility comes with the bat, although in recent times they haven’t had too many problems in that department.
Team News
India are expected to recall the likes of Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and potentially even KL Rahul as they look to be more convincing than they were on Tuesday. Dinesh Khartik and Khaleel Ahmed could make way although the poor performance of Shardul Thakur could have cost him his spot.
Pakistan are likely to be unchanged from the side which routed Hong Kong in their opening match so Asif Ali is expected to keep his place in the team. All eyes will be on the likes of Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed to deliver the goods.
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Betting
I’m never one to bet on dead rubbers and while this will most likely be competitive than some dead rubbers we see there are still doubts about how hard fought it will be especially with India playing on back-to-back days and with each side having three more matches to come.
There is one bet I like though and it comes in the batsmen markets where Fakhar Zaman is in pretty incredible form right now. His last six ODI knocks have been 60, 117*, 43* 210*, 85 and 24 and he finished the T20 series in Zimbabwe with 47, 73 and 91 so he is clearly feeling great about his game. His only innings against India was in the Champions Trophy final last year where he made 114 and his other score here is 43. His runs line for this match is 25.5 and the evidence suggests he will cover that on what should be a decent wicket against the new ball.
Tips
Back F.Zaman – Over 25.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Betfair
Back him here:
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