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A captain with a new batting philosophy and a master batter standing at the crossroads, will aim to create a new narrative when India get ready to settle scores with Pakistan in the marquee Asia Cup match on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been the two pillars of India's white-ball team for the past decade but having received a rude jolt at this very venue 10 months back during the T20 World Cup, the duo exactly know where they stand and what they need to do to turn the tables.
While Rohit will be eager to test his ultra aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Kohli, it will be the perfect platform to return to form after enduring a tough phase in the last few years.
There would be a bigger picture- to set the core combination for the T20 World Cup in Australia in order by the end of this tournament.
With no bilateral contests between the neighbours for 10 years and nothing on the anvil in near future, the geo-political tension does always make for a heady build-up.
But the lack of regular games mean that Indo-Pak rivalries are rather held between unfamiliar foes rather than familiar ones.
A battle ahead
A lot was said after Afridi's two-over opening spell send jitters in the Indian camp during the last T20 World Cup opener.
Questions were raised whether the sameness in the top-order with three right-handers make it easy for a good left-arm paceman to set the alarm bells ringing.
However on Sunday, there will be no Afridi (due to knee injury). Despite all the experimentations done by coach Rahul Dravid, the top-order remains exactly the same after that debacle in Dubai.
Rishabh Pant-Rohit pair showed a lot of promise with their gung-ho approach and Suryakumar Yadav at the top looked menacing with his all-round strokes.
In the new set-up, KL Rahul is coming back up after a surgery and Covid-19 related lay-off. He hasn't played a single international T20 game in 2022.
In the case of Kohli, the number stands at four with a half-century against a sub-par West Indies attack.
Rohit, in the interim, has played some attractive little knocks but more importantly has tweaked his batting philosophy as per the needs of the team.
"It's great to see the new approach of Indian team, started after the last World Cup, following the words of captain by everyone, we are hoping to continue this," vice-captain Rahul said on Friday during a media interaction.
A lot, however, will depend on how the trio of Suryakumar, Pant and Hardik Pandya perform between overs 10 and 20.
On the other side
Babar Azam is very different from some of the Pakistani greats who have led the national team over the years.
A player, who is as much about method as he is about talent, Babar has brought a calmness that has worked more often than not in past couple of years since he took charge.
Along with Mohammed Rizwan, he forms a formidable combination at the top but what their respective strike-rate is less than 130.
While Fakhar Zaman at No. 3 also lends solidity, the rest of the batters haven't shown enough consistency. Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, and Haider Ali are good players but have little to show at the international level in terms of regular runs.
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