CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – The high-profile 2023 Asia Cup clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan started on time despite the inclement weather in and around the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.
India opened their batting with Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill after they had won the toss and elected to bat first while Pakistan opened the bowling attack with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.
“There is a bit of weather around, but we cannot think about it too much,” India Skipper Sharma said after winning the toss.
“Embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had a six-day camp in Bangalore where we worked on our skills. The Asia Cup is a quality tournament with quality teams.”
“At the end of the day, we need to think about what we can do here. Since the last ODI series we played in the West Indies, we have got a few additions.”
“Shreyas and Bumrah are back. Shardul is there. Hardik, of course. And Shardul is there. And two spinners in Kuldeep and Jadeja,” Sharma added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Skipper Babar Azam said: “To be honest, we also wanted to bat first. “We have played a lot of cricket here in the last one and a half months, so we know the conditions.”
The teams
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (Captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
Umpires: Richard Illingworth (England) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (Sri Lanka).
Television Umpire: Paul Wilson (Australia).
Reserve Umpire: Jayaraman Madanagopal (India).
Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (India)
