The Asia Cup 2018 begins tomorrow in UAE and the excitement of the mega event soars with each passing minute. After playing the first match against Hong Kong, the Indian team will play the most awaited cricket battle against Pakistan. More than half of Indian team has already reached Dubai for the mega event and might start hitting the nets today itself. It would be interesting to see how the Indian team performs without Virat Kohli.

Talking about the most awaited clash between India and Pakistan, both countries have come head-to-head 26 times so far and the numbers have been in favour of our neighbours. However, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that India holds an edge in the bigger events over Pakistan. This is the first time that the two nations will come together after India’s disastrous outing at the Champions Trophy 2017. This time, India will step into the tournament without Virat Kohli who has played 12 matches against the neighbours scoring 459 runs with an average of 45.90. Asia Cup 2018 Schedule in PDF for Free Download

Players like MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan who did not have a very memorable time in England will also have to pull up their socks and will have to get back to business. Pakistan, on the other hand, has not lost a single home game since 2017 Champions Trophy. Also, it would be a little difficult for India to win the match against Pakistan owing to the fact that the Indians will play a couple of games back to back, first with Hong Kong on September 18, 2018, and the second with Pakistan on the following day.

Also not to forget, the opening combination for Pakistan looks sorted with Fakhar Zaman and Imam Ul Haq. But, India, as witnessed in the tour to England, will have to get the top order in place. However, if Rohit Sharma overcomes these obstacles, they can surely walk away with the last laugh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 14, 2018 12:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).