In the opening fixture, Pakistan star batter Babar Azam made history by becoming the first captain in Asia Cup history to score 150 runs in an innings.
New Delhi: Former Indian opener and 2007 T20I and 2011 ODI World Cup winning player Gautam Gambhir has backed Rohit Sharma-led side bowling unit ahead of the mighty clash against arch-rivals Pakistan. Team India will face Babar Azam’s- led side on September 2, Saturday at Pallekele International Stadium in Sri Lanka.
After winning the opening match by a huge margin of 238 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan against Nepal, host Pakistan has reached Sri Lanka to play Men in Blue. In the opening fixture, Pakistan star batter Babar Azam made history by becoming the first captain in Asia Cup history to score 150 runs in an innings.
The Pakistan captain led his side from the front during the opening match, where Babar scored 151 runs off 131 deliveries and helped his side reach 342-6 batting first. The Men in Green captain anchored his innings and shifted gears after reaching the three-figure mark. The right-handed batter’s knock included 14 fours and four sixes for a strike rate of 115.27.
In a recent interaction with Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir was questioned about whether Pakistan skipper Babar had given a message to India with his knock against Nepal. The cricketer-turned-commentator has expressed his thoughts that Babar will be tested by the Indian pace trio. Gambhir said “Babar Azam doesn’t need to give any message. He has given a message in the 104 matches he has played. If you can score 19 centuries in 104 matches, I believe he will be in the top two or three players in all formats. So he doesn’t need to give a message.”
“However, it will be a good contest. He will be tested against the Indian fast bowling. You will get to see an Indian attack after a long time, where all three bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj) can test Babar Azam properly,” Gautam Gambhir added.
“Babar Azam’s real testing will not happen against Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, it will be against India. Such players also want to test themselves against this kind of bowling,” the former Indian opener said.
Squads of both teams for Asia Cup 2023
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve).
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).
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