Pakistan has won the toss and chose to bowl first as the most-awaited contest between the two arch-rivals is underway.
Pakistan had announced a 12-man squad and has decided to drop Haider Ali from the squad.
Importance of toss
Babar Azam took the predictable decision of opting for the bowl.
The skipper said that Pakistan will be looking to take early wickets and put some pressure on India adding that he also reckons dew will come in later and that’s another reason they opted to bowl first. He was confident in their preparation.
Indian captain Virat Kohli said that India were looking to bowl first adding that his team is balanced enough to handle this. The message to his team is to stay focused and professional despite the atmosphere around this game – “use it as a motivation but don’t get overawed,”
He added that the pitch looks different and more evenly rolled than during the IPL he says, he also thinks there’s more grass and expects it to play nicely.
Ishan, Ashein, Thakur and Chahar are the four not playing from the initial 15-men squad the selected
Virat Kohli’s India comes into the contest with an unbeaten 5-0 record in the tournament.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said “records are meant to be broken” and the fans echo their captain’s sentiments.
