Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey

IND vs PAK Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report: Asia Cup 2022 Match 2 | IND vs PAK Dream11 Prediction Today | Dubai Pitch Report

India will face Pakistan in the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday to kick off their Asia Cup campaign. Irrespective of a rather muted build-up, the contest continues to attract peerless attention from the masses, especially given the bragging rights at stake.

India will be eagerly looking forward to make amends from their performance in the loss against the arch-rivals in last year’s T20 World Cup. The defeat hurt India significantly, and was one that they couldn’t bounce back from initially as they suffered another defeat to New Zealand.

So, as India return to the UAE, they will be keen to implement their renewed approach this year. This could especially be the case as Shaheen Shah Afridi is out injured, but Pakistan’s batting lineup will equally relieved that Jasprit Bumrah is out for India.

The key question will be whether either team can overcome the trend of chasing teams dominating at Dubai. Afghanistan were the latest to do so, so the team batting first needs to build momentum.

IND v PAK Possible Playing XI

India will have to take a call on sacrificing their bowling depth to include Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI. That seems to be the sole decisive call waiting to be made. The rest of the lineup picks itself otherwise. 

India: 1: Rohit Sharma (C), 2: KL Rahul, 3: Virat Kohli, 4: Suryakumar Yadav, 5: Rishabh Pant (WK), 6: Hardik Pandya, 7: Ravindra Jadeja, 8: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9: Arshdeep Singh, 10: Avesh Khan, 11: Yuzvendra Chahal

Pakistan will test some of their alternative bowling options in Shaheen’s absence. The other objective in sight will be to brush up their middle-order amidst the lack of T20Is that they have played this year.

Pakistan: 1: Babar Azam (C), 2: Mohammed Rizwan (WK), 3: Fakhar Zaman, 4: Iftikhar Ahmed, 5: Asif Ali, 6: Khushdil Shah, 7: Shadab Khan, 8: Haris Rauf, 9: Naseem Shah, 10: Shahnawaz Dahani/Mohammad Hasnain, 11: Usman Qadir/Mohammad Nawaz

Key Players To Watch Out For

India:

• With an incredible average of 77.75 in seven T20Is against Pakistan, Virat Kohli will be a vital cog in the batting lineup irrespective of his current run of form. 
• Suryakumar Yadav will be eyeing the top spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings. The 31-year-old has come into his own in the format with a career average and strike rate of 37.33 and 175.46 after 23 T20Is.
• The team will be expecting some late fireworks from Ravindra Jadeja. The southpaw has recorded an average and strike rate of 55.33 and 146.90 respectively in T20Is in 2022. 
• The Asia Cup has presented a fine opportunity for Arshdeep Singh to strengthen his claim for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad. With nine wickets in six games, Arshdeep has started off well with an economy rate of 6.34 so far.
• Also, Arshdeep has a superb record in T20s at Dubai. He has taken 17 wickets in just seven matches at an average of 12.94 and strike rate of 9.12.
• The tracks on offer in the United Arab Emirates will have assistance in offer for the slower bowlers. Yuzvendra Chahal’s proficiency in the middle-order will hold the key for India to unravel the Pakistani batting lineup.
• Chahal has taken 19 wickets in 12 T20s at Dubai at an average of 16.47 and strike rate of 14.84.

Pakistan:

• Sitting atop the ICC Men’s T20I rankings, Babar Azam is the pillar that holds the entire Pakistani batting order together. Babar scored 939 runs including nine half-centuries and a solitary century in 26 T20I innings last year. He has played only a single T20I in 2022 but his rich vein of form from other formats is likely to translate into the 20-20 game as well. 
• Babar struck 68* off 52 balls vs India last year. Also, he has the most runs of any player in T20s at Dubai: 31 inns, 1043 runs, avg. 35.97, SR 113.86.
• Shadab Khan has time and again shown a tendency to pick wickets in the middle-overs. The proficiency of the Pakistani pace unit makes it imperative upon the Indians to shoot up the scoring rate in the middle-overs. Shadab’s skills will come into fore particularly then. 
• Mohammad Rizwan has played a fine foil to Babar at the top since last year. Rizwan smashed 79* off 55 balls vs India last year.
• Shahnawaz Dahani will be hoping to make the most of this chance in the Asia Cup to prove his mettle in the international circuit. He has taken 48 wickets at a bowling average of 18.20 in 31 T20s over the years. 

Other Key Stats

• Head-to-Head: Played 9, India 7, Pakistan 2. 
• KL Rahul hasn’t featured in India’s last 22 T20Is. He last turned up for a T20I way back in November 2021 against New Zealand. 
• In what is a hallmark of most great batsmen, Babar’s averages across the first the second innings of T20Is are relatively similar, i.e. 47.22 and 43.28 respectively. 
• Naseem Shah hasn’t debuted in T20Is for Pakistan so far. He originally replaced the 49 T20I-veteran Hasan Ali in the squad before the latter came back to fill in for Shaheen Shah Afridi. 
• Dinesh Karthik is the only player likely to play in this game who was also a part of the first-ever T20I that the two sides played back in 2007.

Dubai International Stadium Pitch Report And Weather

The average score batting first in 76 T20Is in the stadium is a partly 142. Chasing teams dominated last year’s World Cup in Dubai, and that was the case in the first match of the Asia Cup as Afghanistan smashed Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, a clear weather with the temperature hovering around 36 degree Celsius is expected during the time of the game.

IND vs PAK Dream11 Prediction 28 August 2022

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

Base Team:

• Batsmen: Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Suryakumar Yadav
• Wicket-Keepers: Mohammad Rizwan
• All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya
• Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Haris Rauf, Yuzvendra Chahal

Asia Cup 2022 Match 2 IND vs PAK Match Prediction: Who will win?

India will most probably come out triumphant given that they have been more in touch with the T20I format than their Pakistani counterparts this year. Ultimately, it could come down to who wins the toss and bowls, but India’s fast approach batting first this year can hold them in good stead.