Team India have won the toss and have elected to bowl first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the high-octane clash of the 2023 World Cup against Pakistan. With dew likely to ease the pitch in the 2nd innings, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma decided to bowl first and will hope to chase the target successfully.
In another massive news for the Men in Blue, Shubman Gill is back for the India and will make his World Cup debut. In a pre-game press conference on Friday, Rohit had confirmed that his opening partner his 99% available for the game. Having recovered from dengue recently, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain the same intensity level.
When the coin came tails, the right-handed batter cited the dew factor behind wanting to bowl first. He felt Ishan Kishan had stepped up at the right time for them, but highlighted that Shubman Gill has been indispensable.
"It is a dream for us, and all of us are going to experience it is. It is not going to change much, dew will also be a factor so we want to chase. We want to keep striving for the best, and come out and play every day. We want to start well and play well, and do our best. It's the most important factor, keeping yourself relaxed, keeping the atmosphere relaxed. Gill is back in place of Ishan Feel for Ishan. He has stepped up, but Gill has been a superb player for us."
Pakistan name unchanged side for marquee clash:
At the toss, Babar said he also wanted to bowl first and revealed to be enjoying the occasion in front of a packed stadium. He added:
"We were looking to field as well. We have had good two wins. Momentum is very high and we want to continue that. Jampacked stadium, we are enjoying our opportunity, and just want to enjoy. We have to be good in the field. We have had good practice sessions. Same team."
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Pakistan playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
