IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2023 Super 4: Experts Believe India Batters Can Cope With Pakistan Lethal Pace Bowling Attack

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Former India cricketers, who are part of the expert panel on JioCinema, agreed that Pakistan has the most lethal pace attack, but believe the Men in Blue has batters to handle the bowling unit in the upcoming IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 clash.

India and Pakistan are set for round two in the ongoing Asia Cup as the arch-rivals meet in the third match of the Super 4 stage on Sunday (September 10) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

In the first meeting on September 2, the two teams had to share the spoils after rain washed out the second innings at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy. However, we got to see Pakistan bowl and India bat in the match.

While Pakistan's lethal pace attack of Shaheeh Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf ran through the opposition's top four, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan showed tremendous fight to take India from 66/4 at one stage to 204 before they were bundled for 266 in 49 overs.

Kishan (82 off 81 balls) and Pandya (87 off 90 balls) shared a 138-run stand as they withstood the pace and spin thrown at them. For Pakistan, Shaheeh Afridi was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 35 in 10 overs, while Naseem and Rauf claimed three wickets each.

The lethal trio continued to look threatening when they bundled out Bangladesh for just 193 in the first match of the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 on a flat wicket at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

This time Rauf claimed four, while Naseem took three and Shaheen bagged one wicket. And after the match, former Indian cricketers Aakash Chopra, Robin Uthappa, Abhishek Nayar and RP Singh were all in awe of their effort, but some feel India can handle the Pakistan pace battery.

Hosting JioCinema's daily sports show '#AAKASHVANI,' Chopra praised the Pakistani bowlers' performance against Bangladesh on Wednesday night.

"It was a very flat track and the Pakistani trio Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah bowled incredibly well to pick up wickets there. Their fast bowling is absolutely top-class. They didn't even let Bangladesh reach a target of 200 in an absolute road like surface," Chopra said.

On the show, former India cricketer Nayar shared his thoughts on the upcoming match-up between India and Pakistan, saying it will be an even contest, but believes Rohit Sharma's side has batter's who can utilize the pace of the Pakistan bowlers.

"If they have pace, we have batsmen who can utilize that pace. We have seen how Virat Kohli batted in the World Cup. I don't think anyone has an upper hand; both teams are very good. But we all know that under pressure, India has always performed better, and I expect the same in the near future," Nayar said.

Meanwhile, Robin Uthappa also agreed with Nayar, stating Pakistan may have some quick bowlers, but believes Indian batters are capable of handling the attack.

"Well, they do have some quick and skilled bowlers, and Shaheen Shah Afridi has been in amazing form recently. Haris Rauf is also performing well. That being said, I believe we have batters in our team who are capable of handling all of them."

RP Singh, on the other hand, emphasized that India vs Pakistan is going to be a clash between the best bowling line-up and the best batting line-up as he feels Babar Azam's side has a slight advantage when it comes to bowling.

"They might have a slight upper hand in their bowling department, and we also have injury concerns," RP Singh said citing India's injury concerns as well.

"Their three fast bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem, all bowl around 150 km/h so in terms of bowling, they seem a bit better. We can watch these matches as a showdown between the best bowling line-up and the best batting line-up."