It’s the match that fans from both sides of the border have been waiting for. India battle familiar foes Pakistan for the first time after the 2017 Champions Trophy final. Pakistan have all kinds of advantages – playing in the UAE, defeating Hong Kong comprehensively, having enough rest while India have been pushed back with the kind of cricket that Hong Kong played a few hours ago in difficult conditions.

Though it is a dead rubber, no team will want to fall short. Basically, nothing matters when these two teams collide. So take a close look at what both the sides have on offer ahead of this box office clash.

From the Indian dressing room:

India will have a lot of issues to address. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul are most likely to return to the playing XI.

Rohit Sharma was looking in good touch before a top-edge caused his downfall but he will want to bury his demons when he faces Mohammed Amir and the rest of the Pakistan pacers. India will take positives with the way Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu played. Rayudu is likely to retain the number three position but India might play KL Rahul at number four followed by MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.

Hardik Pandya will strengthen the Indian side with his batting abilities at number seven and also prove as a bowling option for his skipper Rohit Sharma.

India’s real challenge will be to perform better with the ball. Bumrah’s return will boost the side’s confidence with their second seamer still in doubt. Shardul Thakur had a horrendous night while Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked rusty. Khaleel was a sensation in his second spell on debut and helped India win. So if the management is bold enough to trust him ahead of Kumar in this big encounter with nothing lose will be interesting to see.

A lot will be expected from Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs but Pakistan, for a fact, play spin better than most other countries.

From the Pakistani dressing room:

The Pakistani team will feel a lot confident playing India in conditions familiar to them. UAE has been a happy hunting ground for the men in green but it has always been a different ball game when it comes to playing India.

Pakistan’s ace pacer Mohammad Amir has not been in the best of forms. He has gone wicketless in the last three ODIs and has managed just 3 wickets in the 8 ODIs that he has played in 2018 so far.

He was the destroyer-in-chief during the 2017 Champions Trophy final, returning with figures of 3/16 where he dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli upfront.

Apart from him, Pakistan has a lot of firepower in their new hero Hasan Ali who is a real threat and the emerging Usman Khan who rattled Hong Kong in an over with three strikes just a few days back.

Faheem Ashraf can contribute with his seam-ups but Pakistan’s trump card in these conditions will be their wrist spinner, Shadab Khan.

Pakistan will also rely on the off-breaks of Shoaib Malik and the part-time slow left of Fakhar Zaman in the middle overs to accompany Shadab.

Talking about their batting, Pakistan’s openers, Fakhar Zaman and Imam Ul-Haq, both are in splendid form. Their number three, Babar Azam, too enjoys batting in these conditions and will be the player to watch out for. Shoaib Malik and captain Sarfaraz Khan are seasoned campaigners and add tremendous value to the middle order.

Overall, this battle of nerves will be an exciting contest to witness at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.