Asia Cup 2018: Venkatesh Prasad Excited About India-Pakistan Super Four Clash
Sep 23, 2018 at 4:59 PM
Former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad is expecting a far more competitive encounter between India and Pakistan than the previous clash in the Asia Cup Super Four stage.
Meanwhile, the men in blues dominated the first encounter beating Sarfraz Ahmed & Co by eight wickets. However, Prasad feels the second game will not be like that of the first one.
“The first India-Pakistan encounter in the Asia Cup may have turned out to be a lopsided affair, but the script of the second meeting — the Super 4 contest on Sunday — may well be an exciting one which could go down to the wire,” Venkatesh Prasad wrote in TOI.
India have regrouped well since their hard-fought win against Hong Kong in the first game. The five-bowler theory have worked well for Rohit Sharma & Co and will look to continue that. Venkatesh Prasad feels the batting has complimented the bowling well.
“Coming off a crushing Test series loss in England and the rusty show against Hong Kong in their tournament opener, India have regrouped admirably in all departments. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in the pace department and Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav on the spin front have complemented the firing batting unit,” Prasad added.
Pakistan batsman need to fire against India
Venkatesh Prasad stressed on the importance of Pakistan batsmen coming to the fore. In the last match between the two sides, barring one partnership – between Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam that yielded 82 runs, Pakistan struggled for partnerships.
If they are to beat India, the batting will have to push the opponents and their bowlers.
“For Pakistan to push India, it is important for the batsmen to occupy the crease for a long period, build partnerships and convert the starts. If they bat first, there has to be at least 280 runs on the board for the bowlers to defend. Although batting first is a challenge in the Dubai conditions, Pakistan may prefer to considering they are not the best chasers,” Venkatesh Prasad concluded.