Asia Cup: India wins toss, bat first against Pak
Pakistan are fielding an unchanged team, while India have drafted in Shardul Thakur ahead of Mohammed Shami and included Shreyas Iyer, who came into the side after recovering from an injury.
Pellekele: Team India Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first against Pakistan in the third match of Asia Cup at Pellekele Cricket Stadium here on Saturday.
Pakistan are coming into the match after beating minnows Nepal comprehensively in the tournament opener, and for India this is the opener.
If Pakistan wins today’s match, they will qualify for the round-robin contest.
Pakistan are fielding an unchanged team, while India have drafted in Shardul Thakur ahead of Mohammed Shami and included Shreyas Iyer, who came into the side after recovering from an injury.
“I never imagined I’ll be playing in the Asia Cup. The recovery was slow and steady. I passed the fitness test one week before selection, and I was really happy with that. I was nervous last night, couldn’t sleep. I am super excited to play this match against Pakistan,” Shreyas said.
“It’s a phenomenal feeling to be honest as they are the number 1 team at the moment. We are privileged to be a part of this team and journey with Rahul sir (Dravid) as the coach and under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
The spirits are high in the dressing room and we are looking forward to this game. Delighted to be playing against these (Afridi, Rauf, Naseem) bowlers, plan is just to watch the ball and play according to the situation,” he said.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan Playing XI : Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (Captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.
