Exclusive: Babar Azam and Co a 'very, very strong' side, says Robin Uthappa ahead of India vs Pakistan match
FirstpostIndia begin their Asia Cup 2023 campaign on Saturday against Pakistan, who already have two points to their name courtesy their crushing 238-run victory against Nepal. Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa described the current Pakistan team led by Babar Azam as a “very, very strong” side that will certainly pose the Men in Blue a major challenge in the 2023 Asia Cup, in an exclusive conversation with Firstpost. Read | Pakistan the biggest threat as India aim for eighth Asia Cup title The two sides had won one game each in their two meetings in last year’s Asia Cup that was held in the T20 format in the UAE, and Pakistan had nearly handed India a second consecutive T20 World Cup defeat later that year in Melbourne. Read | Pakistan announce unchanged XI for Asia Cup Group A clash against India Kohli smashed an unbeaten 82 off 53 deliveries against the red-hot Pakistani attack, stitching a 113-run fifth-wicket partnership with Hardik Pandya. Read | India favourites, but Pakistan have narrowed the gap: Ravi Shastri As for some of the memorable India-Pakistan encounters over the years and some standout individual performances from those games, Uthappa singled out Kohli’s match-winning 183 in the 2012 Asia Cup as one of the greatest knocks that he has witnessed.