India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2014 Team News Umar Gul’s chance to go for the glory.When India take on their arch rivals Pakistan in Asia Cup 2014, they would be up against a familiar face who has constantly played against them over the years in seamer, Umar Gul. The right-arm seamer, built like an edifice and known for bowling toe crushing yorkers at slithery speed and generating disconcerting bounce on his day is a vital cog in the Pakistan attack. With 121 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) under his belt, Pakistan would look up to him to steer the ship to safety when they find themselves in tatters. With the ever-reliable Gul by his side, Misbah-ul-Haq, the captain of Pakistan, needn’t have to depend on a prayer before every ball is bowled.
Both teams have their weaknesses. It will depend who play on that given day and learn from their mistakes. It’s going to be a close match, whoever plays well tomorrow will win. Both teams are very good. I’m expecting a good game tomorrow,” he said.Zaheer said that Pakistan would approach the match with a free mind and would retain the same side that won against Afghanistan in the last match.“The top two teams of Asia would be playing tomorrow. You all know how intense it becomes in an India-Pakistan match… It seems the whole world is watching you. Everybody wants a good score and result. India will want their team to win and it will be the same case for Pakistan as well.
“Everyone wants to give their 100 per cent in an India-Pakistan match. It’s going to be a good contest. It’s after all a healthy and sporting rivalry. You cannot predict anything at the moment. We will see tomorrow what will be the result.”Pakistan’s players trained on Saturday, while the Indians - barring Varun Aaron and Cheteshwar Pujara - didn’t.
Spinners have more or less similar records in Fatullah and Mirpur, but the quicker bowlers have done distinctly better at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. India have Aaron and Ishwar Pandey to choose between for that third seamer’s slot, but the amount of time Aaron spent bowling on Saturday suggests he might have a role to play.Often, the contest boils down to desperation. And India are clearly the more desperate side, after series defeats in South Africa and New Zealand. They have a volley of issues to be redressed. The batting, particularly the middle-order, has been inconsistent. The bowling has fallen apart and fielding has gone from bad to worse.
A visibly agitated captain, Virat Kohli, pointed out that they have not been playing smart cricket. They could have scored 25-30 runs more against Sri Lanka, which they didn’t, after a fine start. The shot-selection has been abysmal. Rohit Sharma’s ebbing form has begun to hurt the team, though Shikhar Dhawan is back to his best.
The mainstay, without MS Dhoni, is Kohli, whom India have been relying too much without grasping that he can’t single-handedly win every match. Kohli, though, reckons otherwise. “People bat around me in the middle order because others are inexperienced,” he logics. They will need more definitive contributions from the likes of Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik.Moreover, the lack of a quality all-rounder continues to hurt the team’s balance. The latest experiment, Stuart Binny, too hasn’t shown much promise. Hence, they are in a dilemma, whether to go with five specialist bowlers or with the extra batsman. Leaving out a bowler will make the inexperienced bowling line-up look leaner.
