India and Pakistan share a cricketing rivalry that's arguably the 'greatest' in the sport. Over the years, India have dominated Pakistan in major events but things took a turn after Babar Azam's men secured a win in the T20 World Cup in UAE. However, as the two teams head into the Asia Cup contest, Rohit Sharma's men are being seen as the favourites, at least statistically. With the game taking place at a neutral venue (Sri Lanka), the Indian team can really fancy their chances of coming out on top despite the world-class line-up that their neighbours have at their disposal.
A statistical look at India vs Pakistan showdown:
- Sixty Percent of India's wins v PAK have come in neutral venues (33/55).
- India has a 56 percent win rate in ODIs played in Sri Lanka. In fact, just one more win will see India bag the record of the most ODI wins in any host country outside India.
- Furthermore, India have dominated against Pakistan in tournaments with 5+ Teams in ODIs.
- Out of 25 matches against Pakistan in multi-nation tournaments, with 5+ teams, India have won 14 times, while losing on 11 occasions.
- In the last 10 ODIs played between the two sides India has won 7 of them.
Pakistan have already begun the Asia Cup 2023 journey on a strong note, with skipper Babar Azam scoring over 150 runs in his team's triumph against Nepal. The Indian cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, will be beginning its campaign against their arch-rivals Pakistan.
The Pakistan team hasn't traditionally done as well against India in this tournament but with the likes of Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, etc. they do have what it takes to go all the way in the tournament.
For the Indian team, the lack of clarity over the batting composition remains the biggest worry.