'Mother of all clashes' is on the cards as the arch-rivals India and Pakistan will face each other in the high-octane Asia Cup clash which is slated to be played on August 28.
While India have seven Asia Cup title in their kitty, Pakistan have won the marquee title twice. However the last time they met was in the last edition of the T20 World Cup when the Babar Azam-led side claimed an emphatic 10-wicket victory.
Meanwhile, amid all the hype around the highly anticipated match, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has given his verdict on who will emerge victorious in the slugfest.
Afridi, during a Question & Answer session with his fans on Twitter, was asked on various topics ranging from Shaheen Afridi's injury to Virat Kohli's form and his future plans as well. Among those questions, a fan asked him about the impending India versus Pakistan game.
“Which is the stronger team in Pakistan Vs India match and who do you think will win? #AskLala” asked a fan.
One would have expected Afridi to respond with a one-word tweet by showing support to the Babar-led side, but he instead replied saying, “Depends on who makes the least mistakes.”
India had lost their last meeting with Pakistan which was in their 2021 T20 World Cup opener in Dubai. Shaheen's sensational new-ball spell and Babar and Mohammad Rizwan's superb partnership guided Pakistan to a historic win. Pakistan will however be without Shaheen in the Asia Cup tournament owing to a knee injury while India will be without Jasprit Bumrah , who suffered a back spasm.
Overall, India own a 8-5 record against Pakistan in 14 Asia Cup meetings and has lost only once to their arch-rivals in the tournament history in the last 12 years. Their only defeat came in 2014 in Mirpur.
India vs Pakistan's head-to-head in Asia Cup
Since the inception of the tournament in 1984, India and Pakistan have played against each other on 14 occasions in the Asia Cup.
India has won eight while arch-rivals Pakistan have secured five victories. India has registered seven victories out of the 13 matches against Pakistan in the ODI format in the Asia Cup.
MS Dhoni led India to a five-wicket victory against Pakistan in the teams’ only T20I meeting in the Asia Cup at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh in 2016.
India vs Pakistan's overall performance in Asia Cup
Seven-time champions India have won 36 of the 54 matches in their Asia Cup history. They lost 16 games, while one match was tied and another ended with no result.
India has a win percentage of 66.67 in the Asia Cup.
On the other hand, Pakistan has won 28 of the 49 matches that they have played in the marquee Asian cricket tournament. They have lost 20 matches while one match ended with no result. They currently have a win percentage of 57.14 in the Asia Cup.
India's Asia Cup squad:
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
Standby: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.
Pakistan's Asia Cup squad:
Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.
