In the inaugural match of the 2023 Asia Cup, India emerged victorious in the toss against Pakistan and chose to take the batting position. The game is currently underway at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
India captain Rohit said at the toss that the team would focus on playing good cricket. “We are going to bat first. There is a bit of weather around, but I can’t think much about it. To play good cricket, you need to embrace the challenge and the situation.
We had some time off after the West Indies series,” he said.
“Everyone was up for those drills and challenges in Bengaluru (during camp). Let’s see what we can achieve in this tournament. It’s a quality tournament with quality opposition. At the end of the day, we need to see what we can achieve as a team. Iyer is back, Bumrah is back, and we have three seamers. We’ve got two spinners: Kuldeep and Jadeja,” he added.
Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, expressed the desire for their team to have the opportunity to bat first as well.
“We would have batted first. We have played a lot of cricket here, so we know the conditions. Top teams are playing, so the Asia Cup is good. We’ll try to do our best. We are playing with the same combination; no changes. Performing well always gives you confidence; we’ll try to capitalize.”
Pakistan kicked off their Asia Cup campaign on August 30 against Nepal, while India initiated their campaign on Saturday. Ishan Kishan is slated to bat in the number four position.
India’s starting line-up: Captain Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.
Pakistan’s starting line-up: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf.
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