The eyes of the cricket world will turn towards Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday as Asian giants and adversaries India and Pakistan will renew their rivalry in the second match of Asia Cup 2022.

This is the first time the two teams will be facing each other since Pakistan's 10-wicket win over India at the same stadium in last year's T20 World Cup. India's dramatic loss to Pakistan had ensured that the Men in Blue exited the World Cup in the group stage.

But since the early ouster from the World Cup, India has picked up form which has seen the team remain unbeaten in seven bilateral series. This run includes wins over New Zealand, West Indies -- twice, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and England while sharing the honours with South Africa. India's stellar run coupled with their number one ranking in T20Is has made them a front runner to lift this year's Asia Cup.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022 - Preview of all team, form guide and players to watch out for

Pakistan sailed into the semifinal of the World Cup but they bowed out after a loss against Australia. Considering the Asia Cup and impeding T20 World Cup, Pakistan would have liked to play more of the shortest format of cricket, but there has been a dearth of T20 cricket from Pakistan's international schedule. Since their last year's World Cup campaign, Pakistan has played only two bilateral series and a one-off T20 game. The two series were against Bangladesh and West Indies which Pakistan won by scorelines of 3-0 each. The one-off match was against Australia which the reigning World Champions won with ease.

But India's form and Pakistan's lack of T20 cricket will become secondary issues once the two rivals take the field in Dubai.

Team rivalry aside, the focus will also be on two-star batsmen on either side. World cricket is hungry to see Pakistan captain Babar Azam and former Indian captain Virat Kohli share the stage.

Babar is the number one ranked T20I batsman in the world and at present can do no wrong in white-ball cricket. The 27-year-old along with Mohammad Rizwan was the chief architect of Pakistan's first win over India in the ICC T20 World Cup last year. Babar averages 45.52 in T20Is and if gets going then even the best bowlers in the world fail to dislodge him from the middle. Needless to say, Babar will again be key to Pakistan's fortune in this high-profile match.

In the opposite ranks, Kohli will be itching to put his poor form behind him. It has been over 1000 days since Kohli notched his last international hundred. After India's exit from the T20 World Cup, Kohli stepped down from India's T20 captaincy and was subsequently replaced by Rohit Sharma as the leader in the two other formats as well. But discharging Kohli from captaincy duties has not helped the cause as the 33-year-old continues to struggle for consistency. But ahead of the Asia Cup, a video of Kohli's net session has gone viral on Twitter in which Kohli can be seen hitting the ball as cleanly as he has ever done! That video would have inspired some confidence among the Indian fans and they would hope that Kohli can reproduce more of the same against Pakistan on Sunday.