The most anticipated Asia Cup 2023 match is one day away. After 13 long years, India is finally going to play Pakistan on Sri Lankan soil. They have gone off against one another three times thus far, with each winning one match while the other washed out. They’ll experience the atmosphere once more on Saturday.
The Indian batters played admirably in those two games. Top-order batters, for example, have scored the most runs. Some of the names at the top of this list include MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, and Sachin Tendulkar. Three separate venues hosted the three games. India defeated Pakistan in Dambulla in 2010 after losing the match in Colombo in 2004.
Only three players on the current roster have at least some batting experience: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja. Nevertheless, a lot has changed since then. Pakistan is the top-ranked ODI team right now, and their pace bowling assault is terrifying. It will be intriguing to witness the Indian batters’ responses.
Irfan Pathan, a former Indian all-rounder, joins the list with a score of 38 off 75 balls. He only participated in one game against Pakistan in Sri Lanka. The all-around performance of Shoaib Malik in the 10th game of that edition made it famous. Pakistan ultimately defeated India by 59 runs.
Irfan played the ball well to start the game. He bowled his heart out, making the first breakthrough and eventually taking two wickets. However, he still had to play a significant batting role for India. He batted at number seven and shared a 63-run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar.
He had trouble rotating the strike and had trouble getting moving at all. Sachin felt increasing pressure, and it was tremendous pressure. To overcome the scenario, they needed a miracle, but it didn’t materialize. Irfan gave it his best shot, despite not having much to contribute at the time.
Like Sachin Tendulkar, the “Prince of Calcutta,” Sourav Ganguly, competed in two Pakistan matches in Sri Lanka. He was the team’s captain and was batting third. Sourav and his boys fielded first after having lost the toss earlier in the day. They ultimately gave up 300 runs, which was unusual back then.
Dada didn’t take long to get to the wicket because opener Virender Sehwag was out early. At the crease, he then joined Sachin Tendulkar. As one of the best hitting partnerships to have ever played the game, the fans had high expectations for this batting duo. However, on that particular day, their performance fell short of the mark.
Nevertheless, Dada got off to a good start. It was like a daily chore for him to look for weaknesses against Shoaib Akhtar and Shabbir Ahmed. He was attempting to maximize his powerplay advantage, and by doing so, he received few boundaries. When it appeared that they had built a solid base, Sourav was out at 39 off 45 balls. However, it wasn’t enough to help India win the game.
In the 2010 ODI in Dambulla, former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored the game-winning fifty. The lads in blue played the game as “payback” for what happened in the Champions Trophy earlier in the year. And much like every single India-Pakistan match, the final over was tense.
Early on, India lost two wickets, and Dhoni entered at number four. He sat down at the crease with Gautam Gambhir, who was batting well. MS was one of the top-ranked ICC batters at the time. On that particular day, he moved ahead of Rohit Sharma in the pecking order.
Dhoni acted as Gambhir’s second fiddle, providing support. He was doing a good job of rotating the strike. He hit a six off the bowling of Akhtar over midwicket to reach fifty. But finally, he was unable to build on his initial success. Harbhajan Singh’s stunning six from the final ball afterwards gave India the victory.
Sachin Tendulkar, a former star batsman for India, participated in two Pakistan games in Sri Lanka. He was the captain for the first game that was rained out at the SSC stadium in Colombo. The subsequent game took place in Premadasa Stadium seven years later. This time, he had a score of 301 runs to pursue.
But Tendulkar had a difficult day at the office. In the second over of the chase, he separated from his opening partner. Following that, he formed a few quick partnerships with the batters, but never a significant one. He was making doubles and singles with ease. However, wickets were breaking apart at the other end.
India had lost 5 wickets and had scored 151 runs. After then, Sachin and Pathan started working together. But they went through too many balls, leaving them with no choice but to strike. Eventually, Sachin hit a few boundaries, but Imran Nazir’s catch of him off Shoaib Malik brought an end to his innings. In the end, Pakistan conceded to India by a large margin of 59 runs.
In terms of most runs scored by an Indian batter versus Pakistan in Sri Lanka, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir tops the list. Against Pakistan, one of his favorite foes, Gautam, participated in just one inning. In 2010, Dambulla hosted the Asia Cup game. India was eager to defeat Pakistan in this match.
Pakistan gave their neighbor a 268-run objective to reach. The duo of Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were capable of handling the job. However, Sehwag’s cramps made Gambhir hesitant to make a move. With no risk involved, he was taking his time. When batters felt uncomfortable facing from the other end, Gambhir remained unwavering from one end.
Gambhir has a strong will and is committed to sticking around to the end. He put up a good fight and raced between the wickets fairly nicely. He was once removed from Shoaib Malik’s bowling by Mohammad Amir. By that point, they had already formed a solid bond, making it too late for him and Pakistan.
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