India bowl first against arch-rivals Pakistan, Gill returns
The day that brings two countries to a standstill. A match that has become a showpiece event in any multi-team cricket tournament, especially since the stoppage of bilateral series between the two sides. It may have been woefully, tragicomically one-sided in India's favour in the previous decade but recent matches between the two teams have often tended to become the humdingers it has always been known to be.
India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl first against Pakistan at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Rohit said that Shubman Gill is back and he will replace Ishan Kishan as the opener.
"We will bowl first, cannot get bigger than this, fantastic atmosphere. Sure lot of us are going to experience something really extraordinary. It's a good track, and not going to change much, Dew could be a big factor, and keeping that in mind, we want to bowl first. We want to keep striving for the best, we want to come out there and give our best in every game," Rohit said at the toss.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Pakistan playing with an unchanged XI.
"We also wanted to bowl first. We have had good two wins, and momentum and confidence is high. Jam-packed stadium, we will enjoy it. We want to be good in the field, we had a couple of good practice sessions. Same team for us," Babar Azam said.
The day that brings two countries to a standstill. A match that has become a showpiece event in any multi-team cricket tournament, especially since the stoppage of bilateral series between the two sides. It may have been woefully, tragicomically one-sided in India's favour in the previous decade but recent matches between the two teams have often tended to become the humdingers it has always been known to be.
It is the match that fans on both sides of the border, and arguably those living far away from it within other borders, set their eyes when the World Cup schedule was announced, and re-announced. The ultimate showdown for which hotel tariffs and flight tickets have soared through the roof. For which people are booking hospital beds. It is the grand spectacle – India vs Pakistan at the World Cup!
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
