Asia Cup 2018: India vs Pakistan: Key battles, where to watch, timing

Bengaluru, September 19: The much anticipated India vs Pakistan clash will take place on Wednesday (September 19) in Asia Cup 2018 at Dubai. While Pakistan scored a rather comfortable win over Hong Kong, India survived a mighty scare before beating the minnows by 26 runs on Tuesday (September 18).

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Ahead of the big clash at 5 PM that will be aired live on Star Sports channels, MyKhel takes a close look at some key battles that may determine the course of the match. Let's dive in then! Of course watch out for MyKhel Live Blog too to keep you on track of the match.

1. Mohammad Amir vs Rohit Sharma/Shikhar Dhawan

Amit has not been among wickets of late as his last four ODI matches returned with figures of 1-21, 0-33, 0-19 and 0-20. His last big effort was against Australia at Harare on July 8 when he took three wickets. But that counts for little in an India vs Pakistan match. His pace and angle has troubled Rohit Sharma in the past - in the last edition of the Asia Cup and in the Champions Trophy final in 2017. Dhawan, who made a hundred against Hong Kong on Tuesday, looked in good touch after the struggles in England but the pace and bounce of Amir may pose some questions to the left-hander.

2. Jasprit Bumrah vs Fakhr Zaman

In the Champions Trophy final at the Oval in 2017, Bumrah had dismissed Zaman but was called for overstepping. It was a big moment in the match as Zaman went on to make a hundred, eventually a match-winning one. Both the cricketers have scaled new heights since then. Bumrah is a now India's premier pacer in Test cricket, though he has not entirely gotten rid of the no-ball issue. On other hand, Zaman has established himself as one of the best ODI batsmen in recent times and he underlined that status with a 210 against Zimbabwe at Harare on July 10. It will be fascinating contest.

3. Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs Babar Azam

Bhuvneshwar had missed the entire Test series against England due to an injury and did not look in any great rhythm against Hong Kong, conceding 50 runs in his nine overs without picking up a wicket. Against Pakistan, Bhuvneshwar will have a formidable opponent in Azam, one of the red-hot ODI player at the moment. He's one of the quickest to the 2000-run mark in ODIs and from 47 matches he has made 2006 runs at 54.21 with eight hundreds and seven fifties. Bhuvneshwar will have to find his mojo against him.

4. Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal vs Pakistan batsmen

Since the Australia ODI series in 2017, Kuldeep and Chahal have been India's preferred spin weapons. And both of them have not disappointed either. Kuldeep picked up his 50th wicket in his 24th ODI - against Hong Kong while Chahal too is not far behind with 48 wickets from 27 matches. Even against Hong Kong, they underlined their worth sharing five wickets among them and tied down the opposition in the middle overs. But against Pakistan, they face a different challenge as they will be up against a set of batsmen not daunted by spin. Shoaib Malik will be a formidable foe having scored 1661 runs in 39 matches at 47.45 against India.

The Wild Thing - Usman Khan Shinwari

The 24-year-old, who has 18 wickets from seven matches, has pace, swing and to India's worry a left-armer too. Along with Amir, Shinwari can really trouble India with his pace and movement and annoyingly accurate. If his outing against Hong Kong (3-19) can be taken as a teaser then we are in for a jolly ride in this match against India at Dubai.