India faces Pakistan in the Asian Games final on Saturday with gold at stake. Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lead the batting lineup on a tricky, spin-friendly pitch. Saurabh Kumar said, "this match might turn out to be a really interesting one, only due to the pitch in place."
Sahibzada Farhan is Pakistan's clear batting threat. For India, Sanju Samson will be looking for a better outing after making 7 in the semi-final against Sri Lanka, where he was bowled while backing away.
He has also struggled to score quickly against Pakistan, with a T20I strike rate below 100, though that comes from only two innings, both in the same Asia Cup. He batted in the middle order in that tournament before moving to No. 3 in the semi-final, and another turn at No. 3 is possible on Saturday.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will draw plenty of eyes. The 15-year-old came into the XI for the semi-final, with Abhishek Sharma expected to partner him at the top. Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma provide experience in the middle order, and Shivam Dube adds another power-hitting option.
Pakistan need more from Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz and Abdul Samad. Samad's late hitting was decisive against Bangladesh, but the rest of the order must avoid the repeated errors that put them in trouble in that chase.
Saurabh Kumar wrote the preview of the final for India Today Sports.
He says that this match might turn out to be a really interesting one, only due to the pitch in place.
India vs Pakistan again, but this time Asian Games gold is at stake on tricky track
India are leagues ahead of Pakistan in terms of T20 cricket, but a difficult pitch (spin-helping) could neutralise the batting firepower.
If that happens, then Pakistan batters might just be able to make a contest out of this final.