Fitness test for one side, carrying the form for another. And the last leg for the World Cup preparations for both the teams.
All these objectives will be paused for eight hours at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on the outskirts of hilly Kandy on Saturday afternoon.
After all, it’s India vs Pakistan time. That too in the Asia Cup. And the same stands and grass banks that wore a deserted look on Thursday for Sri Lanka’s game against Bangladesh — the other fierce inter-continental rivalry — will be choc-a-bloc.
The tournament may have already witnessed two games, but the Asia Cup will actually come alive when Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam walk out for the toss.
With the political situation resulting in bilateral cricket taking a break, the fans are hoping to witness five — at least three — clashes between both the outfits over the next ten weeks. It may be noted that the hostile neighbours have not faced each other in an ODI since the 2019 World Cup.
No wonder then that Colombo-bound flights from all corners of India over the last couple of days have been overbooked, with a few Indian fans roaming the streets of Kandy in quest of buying a ticket at the last minute, an unaffordable task for the World Cup game in Ahmedabad next month.
Most of the fans — not just at the venue but also worldwide — will be hoping that the weather forecast of frequent interruptions for Saturday doesn’t come true. Both the teams will be hoping for a full game. After all, there is more in it for them than just the prestige involved in the outcome of the game.
India will be hoping for Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah to not just prove their fitness, but to get back into form right away after a prolonged injury layoff. While Bumrah featured in the T20I series in Ireland last month, Shreyas hasn’t played a competitive game for more than six months.
With Shreyas’ return after a layoff and Ishan Kishan set to play at No. 5 in a new role, the onus will be on top three to make it count, that too, against a pace attack that’s been at its best for a while.
The match is being billed as a battle between India’s top three batters versus Pakistan’s pace trio. The two units appeared to be in their element while training on either side of the strip on Friday evening.
India’s choices for the other pace-bowling slots will be interesting. With room for two among Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur, batting depth at No. 8 offered by the last-named may be a criterion.
The teams (from):
India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Hardik Pandya (Vice-capt.), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L. Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (Capt.), 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 and Saud Shakeel.
Match starts at 3 p.m.
