3 mistakes India must avoid against Pakistan in Super 4 of Asia Cup 2023

The much-awaited clash of the 2023 Asia Cup - India vs Pakistan - ended without a result as rain played spoilsport in Pallekele, forcing the game to be washed out with both teams sharing a point each. Fans only got to witness one innings on Saturday, September 2, but if the two rivals make it to the finals, they could meet twice more in the ongoing tournament. An IND-PAK game always brings out high-intensity emotions for millions of people in both countries and it was fully present in the previous game as well.

Batting first on a slow pitch, Pakistan pacers bamboozled India's top order, with left-arm seamer Shaheen Afridi being the wrecker-in-chief. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill looked good early on, but when play resumed after the first rain interruption, Afridi found his rhythm and dismissed Rohit and Virat Kohli in quick succession. However, after a top-order collapse, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya steadied the ship, taking the team's total to 266.

Pakistan booked their ticket to the Super 4 stage after a draw against India and a massive win against Nepal in their opening game. Meanwhile, India needs to beat Nepal in their second match at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday, September 4 to progress to the next round. Rohit Sharma and Co will be hoping for a landslide win against the minnows and if they do, Babar Azam's team will look forward to facing them in Colombo on September 10.

In this article, we look at three mistakes that India should avoid against Pakistan in the Super 4 phase

1. Remember overcast conditions during the toss

It's true that India batters got a good deal of batting practice in difficult conditions against quality bowlers in a high-pressure game in their first match. But it was a strange and brave call by Rohit to bat first given the weather. Chasing is always wise in such overcast conditions as the team knows exactly what to score. Especially with the kind of threat Pakistan's pace attack has, if the situation is the same in Colombo at the Super 4 stage, India should make a sensible decision.

2. Don't forcefully disrupt the batting order

In the absence of KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan was included in the Playing XI against Pakistan. There were reports that Kishan might be played at the top 3 with Kohli moving to No. 4. However, the management did a masterstroke by playing the southpaw at No. 5 and the young lad proved his mettle with a sensational knock (82 off 81) that helped India recover from an early slump. Given his performance in the high-pressure game, there is no need to bring Rahul into the mix when he returns during the Super 4 stage. Even if India wanted to include Rahul in the XI, they could replace him with Kishan and not disrupt the entire batting order.

3. Work on shot selection 

Although the seamers were helped by the Pallekele pitch, the manner in which some of India's batters were dismissed was not satisfactory. Rohit and Gill left big gaps between the bat and pads, while Kohli pushed at one outside off, only to get deflected and hit the stumps. Shreyas Iyer offered a simple chance to the midwicket fielder and Ravindra Jadeja brushed an outside-off delivery that found the wicketkeeper's glove. India batters need to work on their shot selection before their next match against Pakistan.