3 Reasons why India will beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup

An India vs Pakistan encounter has always been a marquee match-up in International Cricket. It has, also, become an extinct contest for reasons unrelated to the realm of international cricket. Nevertheless, the rare prospect of a match, between these two teams invites decibels worth of excitement, fervour, and chest-beating from fans of both teams, often months in advance.

The next India vs Pakistan clash is right around the corner. It's on September 18th, 2018, as a result of an Asia Cup fixture. Traditionally, while emotion filled and edge-of-the-seat moments encapsulate the atmosphere surrounding this age-old match-up, ultimately, more often than not, the team with the better skills ends up winning.

Going into the Asia Cup, both India and Pakistan appear to be well-settled teams that are in good form, that have their combinations sorted, and their off-field distractions dealt with. Unlike their previous contest in England, in the Champions Trophy (CT) in 2016, this time around, the two teams will meet in the desert heat of the UAE.

The playing conditions in the UAE, equally, suit both the teams. While the UAE has served as de facto home-base for Pakistan, for the past several years, India has played in similar conditions, at home. So, no team holds an advantage on that front. However, there are three critical elements to this contest that'll determine the winner. Let's analyze this match-up in the context of these key elements.

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#3 Spinners

Kuldeep Yadav & Yuzvendra Chahal

The pitches in the UAE are generally spin-friendly. Particularly, in the middle overs, spinners become critical weapons for stifling the run-rate and picking up crucial wickets. India, since losing to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy finals, has replaced its finger-spinners- Ashwin and Jadeja- with a couple of willy wrist-spinners- Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Yadav and Chahal have performed incredibly well for India, both at home and overseas.

The Pakistani batsmen, who'll be facing these Indian spinners for the first time, will have their work cut out for them. Pakistan's strength lies in their pace bowling attack. Their spinners, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, will hardly pose any problems to an Indian batting line-up that fancies playing spin bowling. So, India clearly has an edge in the spin department.

#2 Fielding

Chahal, Dhawan & Rahul

Traditionally, India and Pakistan have been poor fielding sides. Their contests have, often, been exhibitions on how to drop catches and field sloppily. However, both teams have worked very hard on improving their fielding, over the past couple of years. India has a clear advantage when it comes to ground fielding.

Virat Kohli has made fitness a priority for this Indian team and, clearly, this is the fittest Indian team of all time. Pakistan has also improved in this aspect but, there's no question, India's ground fielding is a notch above Pakistan's. However, both teams continue to be inconsistent in holding on to their catches. So, while the teams are, pretty much, equally unreliable catchers, India is the better fielding team, on the basis of their superior ground fielding.

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#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

By far, a significant part of Pakistan's planning will focus on how to get Virat Kohli's wicket early. Pakistan views Kohli's batting performance as the single most important factor that stands between them and winning the match. The good news, for Pakistan, is that they were able to get Kohli's wicket early in their CT finals win.

However, the bad news is that Kohli has been on an absolute tear since then. He's racked up runs against, virtually, every team- both at home and on the road. Hence, Kohli's good form with the bat and the opportunity, for him, to make amends for his failure in that CT final make him a, particularly, formidable, if not an insurmountable, challenge for Pakistan to overcome.

So, on account of having better spinners, a superior fielding unit, and a run-machine called Virat Kohli, India will decisively beat Pakistan in their Asia Cup 2018 clash!