Doha, Qatar: India A and Pakistan Shaheens renew one of cricket’s most-watched rivalries on Sunday when the two teams meet in the Asia Cup Rising Stars at West End Park Stadium in Asian Town.
Both teams, placed in Group B at this year’s edition of the tournament conducted by the Asian Cricket Council and hosted by the Qatar Cricket Association, have started off on winning notes on Friday, with Pakistan Shaheens defeating Oman by 40 runs, while India A crushed UAE by a massive 148-run margin.
Today’s much-awaited clash will be the first meeting between the men’s teams of the two traditional rivals since the senior Asia Cup in September, although the senior women’s sides met at the ODI World Cup earlier this month in Sri Lanka.
The teams share a rich history in the tournament – earlier labeled as the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup - which dates back to 2013.
India’s U-23 and A teams lead the head-to-head record 5-2. The teams have met twice in the title clashes, with India U-23 winning the 2013 final by nine wickets in Singapore and Pakistan U-23 producing a 128-run demolition in the 2023 final in Colombo in the 50-over format. From this year on, the tournament features 20-overs-per-side contests, featuring ‘A’ teams from the International Cricket Council’s full member nations and top sides from the rest of the participating countries.
Both camps will see Sunday’s game as a key encounter to gain an early advantage in the tournament and push for senior selection.
India captain Jitesh Sharma, while attending the official tournament launch on Thursday, said that “the pitches might be quite challenging if scores are around 150–160.”
“We have got some data from the games already played here, and most of the scores have been around 150–160. So, based on that, we are preparing and assuming that these wickets will behave the same as typical Asian wickets,” Sharma said.
“But you know T20 is an uncertain game - you never know what you are going to face, you just have to react. We want to go with the flow and see how the wickets behave.”
Pakistan skipper Irfan Khan also agreed, saying he feels 160-170 will be a good total to defend.
“We have adequate information on the conditions here. We plan according to our opposite number. You will see our performances when we reach the ground. We feel 160-170 runs is a good target to defend. If you bowl well, you can defend easily,” Khan, who has played 9 ODIs and 14 T20Is for Pakistan senior side, said.
The first round of contests has already proven that this is no ordinary face-off.
In India's opening match on Friday, teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi lit up the venue with a jaw-dropping 32-ball century, powering India ‘A’ to a massive win over the UAE.
The 14-year-old prodigy Suryavanshi scored the joint-second fastest men's T20 century by an Indian before finishing his innings at 144 from just 42 deliveries.
"It was just my natural game and it's the T20 format, so I wanted to back my own game," Suryavanshi said after his epic knock.
"I was dropped first ball, but I just thought I didn't want to change my intent because we needed a big score on this ground. The wicket was good and the boundary was small. So I was trying to back my shots."
"There is no pressure. Because the fans have come to support," Suryavanshi said.
In Saturday’s matches, Afghanistan A launched their title-defence bid with a thrilling three-wicket win over last year’s runners-up Sri Lanka A, while Bangladesh A defeated Hong Kong by eight wickets.
