Pressure on India against resurgent Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2022

Top two teams from Super 4 stage will qualify for Sunday's final in Dubai

Pakistan's Shadab Khan bowls against India in the Asia Cup 2022 clash at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Pawan Singh / The National

India's Virat Kohli playing a shot in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Shadab Khan, second from right, celebrates after taking the wicket of KL Rahul. Pawan Singh / The National

Shadab Khan celebrating after taking the wicket of KL Rahul. Pawan Singh / The National

KL Rahul walks back to the pavilion after being bowled by Shadab Khani. Pawan Singh / The National

Virat Kohli playing a shot during his innings of 60. Pawan Singh / The National

Mohammad Nawaz catches Suryakumar Yadav. Pawan Singh / The National

Virat Kohli is run out by Asif Ali. Pawan Singh / The National

Virat Kohli top scored for India. Pawan Singh / The National

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot. Pawan Singh / The National

Mohammad Rizwan celebrates after scoring his half-century against India. Pawan Singh / The National

Mohammad Rizwan celebrates his half-century. Pawan Singh / The National

Pakistan's Babar Azam hits out. Pawan Singh / The National

Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz on his way to a quickfire 42 as Pakistan beat India during the Asia Cup Twenty20 Super Four match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 4, 2022. AFP

The view from the stands during India vs Pakistan at the Asia Cup 2022. Pawan Singh / The National

India fans during the match. Pawan Singh / The National

India fans during the game. Pawan Singh / The National

The view from the crowd during the game. Pawan Singh / The National

Pakistan at the Asia Cup 2022 match against India. Pawan Singh / The National

The view from the stands during India vs Pakistan at the Asia Cup 2022. Pawan Singh / The National

India fans at the Asia Cup 2022. Pawan Singh / The National

The crowds at the Asia Cup in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Pakistan celebrate their victory. Pawan Singh / The National

Players shake hands at the end of the game. Pawan Singh / The National

Pakistan's thrilling win in the Asia Cup 'Super 4' stage match against India has put Rohit Sharma's team under pressure to get their campaign back on track.

India's next assignment in the tournament is against Sri Lanka on Tuesday and then Afghanistan on Thursday. All four teams play each other once in this stage before the top two teams make it to Sunday's final.

That means India will have to win their next two matches to remain in contention. That will be easier said than done as Sri Lanka have been on the rise following a horror start to the tournament.

After getting blown away by Afghanistan for 105 and losing the match in 10 overs in the second innings, it seemed Sri Lanka would be one of the first teams out of the tournament.

However, an exciting two-wicket win over Bangladesh took them to the next phase where they exacted revenge for the opening defeat, chasing down 176 against the Afghans.

That means India will have to be at their best against a team that is carrying momentum into Tuesday's contest in Dubai.

India would have learnt some harsh lessons from their defeat to Pakistan. After seeming in control until the last few overs, India let the advantage slip when seamer Arshdeep Singh dropped a sitter off Asif Ali in the 18th over.

Thereafter, Pakistan blasted 19 runs from Bhuvneshwar Kumar's penultimate over and claimed victory despite a respectable last over from Singh. There was an unfortunate incident after the match as Singh's Wikipedia page got edited and incendiary remarks were posted about the Sikh player.

For the Indians, a fine fifty from Virat Kohli and excellent bowling from young leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi were the big positives.

However, the lack of runs from Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda, and the continued struggles of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal have provided more headaches than solutions for what was supposed to be a tune-up to the T20 World Cup.

With Ravindra Jadeja ruled out for months due to a knee injury, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel are more suitable options as they can exploit helpful conditions and are good batsmen as well. India are also likely to bring back Dinesh Karthik who was left out of the team for the Pakistan game.