Virat Kohli vs Babar Azam: How have both batters performed in India vs Pakistan matches?

Virat Kohli's dominance in the white ball format has been beyond imagination. The 'chase master' has been India's saviour on many occasions and in the Asia Cup too, the batting unit will rely on him a lot. The 34-year-old seems to have found his rhythm again and will try to gain control over the Pakistan bowlers.

3 things you need to know

• India are the defending champions of the 50 over Asia Cup
• India has six victories over Pakistan in the Asia Cup
• The Men in Blue will play all their matches in Sri Lanka

Virat Kohli's performance in IND vs PAK ODI matches

The Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman has been involved in 13 ODI matches against their archrivals and has amassed 536 runs at a brilliant average of 48.72. Incidentally, his best score in the Asia Cup also happens to be his highest score against Pakistan when he belted out 183 runs in 148 balls back in 2012 in Mirpur, Bangladesh.

Also Read: IND vs PAK: H2H record as one team holds slight edge over their opponents in Asia Cup

Kohli also churned out a famous performance in Adelaide in the 2015 ICC ODI World Cup. Relying on his 107 off 126 balls, the Men in Blue slammed them by 76 runs in that game.

Babar Azam's performance in IND vs PAK ODI matches

Compared to Virat Kohli, Babar Azam is pretty new to the INDO-PAK rivalry. The Pakistan skipper has only participated in five matches and could only manage a paltry 158 games at a meagre average of 31.60. Babar's highest score came in a losing cause in the 2019 World Cup when he scored 48 runs.

He had a forgetful debut against India, as he could only score eight runs before walking back to the pavilion. In the 2018 Asia Cup, he recorded a score of 47 and 9 and Pakistan went on to lose both the games. 

Pakistan thrashed Nepal in their first Asia Cup game and they would arrive in Sri Lanka with a positive mindset. This would be India's first game in the continental competition and anything but a win would be a perfect start for Rohit Sharma and Co.