India Saturday won the toss and put Pakistan to bat in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India, leaving fans excited for the game to begin in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“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,” said Pakistan team captain Babar Azam. 

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said: “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.”

The two arch-rivals face-off in what is being touted as one of the biggest clashes in the mega cricket tournament with the Babar Azam-led Green Shirts and Rohit Sharma’s Men In Blue aiming to claim victory today.

Tentative playing XIs

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj