India vs Pakistan: Who has the upper hand in the Asia Cup?

Pakistan ’keeper Mohd Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi chat with India’s Virat Kohli during the 2022 T20 World Cup match at Melbourne. Pic/AFP

The generally tranquil town of Kandy was buzzing with electricity on Thursday; the annual Esala Perahera pageant - also known as the festival of the tooth - drew to a close and thousands lined the streets to partake of Diya Kapeema (the water cutting ceremony) and Dahawal Perahera (the day procession). The Asia Cup match between co-hosts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the nearby Pallekele International Cricket Stadium was not even so much as an afterthought.

Stop-start rivalry

The focus will shift emphatically, if only temporarily, to cricket on Saturday afternoon when old foes India and Pakistan resume their recent stop-start rivalry with the first of potentially five 50-over matches in two and a half months. That will be quite something, considering that in the last 10 years, they have met just seven times, all in multi-team competitions.

Interest in Kandy and its surrounds in the Asia Cup might be fleeting, but the first ODI between India and Pakistan since the 2019 World Cup has stoked passion and tremendous enthusiasm in the two nations concerned. A sea of Indian spectators has already descended on Colombo en route to Pallekele, determined to egg their heroes on in an early bid to snatch the bragging rights ahead of their guaranteed World Cup showdown in Ahmedabad on October 14.

Also Read: As you like it!

Alur nets handy

India utilised the time at their disposal by honing their fitness and skills at a snappy camp behind closed doors at the KSCA ground in Alur on the outskirts of Bangalore before emplaning for Colombo on Wednesday. Forced to tinker with their combination for nearly the last year owing to injuries to a host of influential performers, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are finally in a position to draw from almost the entire complement, with the exception of KL Rahul, expected to return to action next week, and Rishabh Pant, who still has a long road ahead of him.

Of particular interest over the next few weeks will be how Shreyas Iyer shapes up. The dynamic middle-order batsman's last competitive appearance was in early March in a Test against Australia, after which he had to go under the surgeon's scalpel to fix a long-standing back problem. In his 42-match ODI career, Iyer averages in excess of 46 and strikes at 96.50 per 100 balls, superb numbers for someone batting at No. 4 and thereabouts. The 28-year-old has a maximum of nine ODIs to slot back into the rhythm that has made him such a feared opponent and such an integral teammate.

Iyer will be one of many on the comeback trail from injuries who will garner attention. Others include the outstanding Jasprit Bumrah and the exciting Prasidh Krishna, the pacers who showed few unpleasant aftereffects of back surgery during the T20I series in Ireland this month.