Former Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Kamran Akmal warned Babar Azam’s men on the prospect of facing India on October 14 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and urged them to plan well for the high-octane clash.
“If they play with the same mentality as the Asia Cup, and the way we played for the past three years, they’re going to get thrashed badly. They need to prepare really well,” said Akmal speaking on his YouTube channel.
Speaking about the Indian side Akmal said, “Mohammed Shami is on the bench, he doesn’t play in this XI. That shows you it’s a complete bowling unit. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma are in form, Shubman Gill scored a century recently, so it looks a solid batting unit. I’ll just say that for the match we have on October 14, Pakistan team need to plan really well to put them under pressure.”
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India thrashed Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super 4 game earlier in Colombo. A fifer from Kuldeep Yadav after centuries by KL Rahul (111*) and Virat Kohli (122*) guided India to a 228-run victory.
India’s Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the wicket of Pakistan’s Faheem Ashraf during the Asia Cup match in Colombo on Monday. (AP Photo)
Besides the centuries from Rahul and Kohli, India also had half-centuries by Rohit Sharma (56) and Shubman Gill (58) that propelled them to a first innings score of 356/2 in 50 overs. This was after the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan resumed on Monday after rain delayed the start of the reserve day. Despite play starting one hour 40 minutes after the scheduled time, the game remained 50 overs a side contest.
India’s Asia Cup opener against Pakistan was also impacted by rain. The weather has been intensely debated through the Sri Lanka leg of the Asia Cup. Rain is expected in the Sri Lankan capital throughout the Super 4s. Asian Cricket Council’s decision to keep a reserve day only for the India-Pakistan game and the final also triggered a controversy.