In a thrilling Asia Cup Super Fours clash at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bowl first against Pakistan on Sunday. The move brings back star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy to the Indian lineup, replacing Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
This high-stakes India vs Pakistan encounter follows their tense Group A meeting last week at the same venue, where India cruised to a seven-wicket win. Tensions boiled over afterward when no Indian players shook hands with their Pakistani rivals, leaving the Pakistan team frustrated enough to nearly withdraw from the eight-team tournament.
Suryakumar shared his thoughts post-toss, noting the pitch looks good with some dew from the night before. “We’ve been treating this like a knockout since the first round—nothing’s changed,” he said. “That Abu Dhabi wicket was totally different. This is just another game.” Good news for fans: spinner Axar Patel shakes off a head injury from the Oman match and joins the XI.
Pakistan’s skipper Salman Agha made two swaps, bringing in Faheem Ashraf and Hussain Talat for Hasan Nawaz and Khushdil Shah. “I’d have bowled first too,” Agha said. “It’s a fresh challenge, mood’s steady. The pitch seems slower, so we aim to fire with bat and ball right from the start.”
The awkwardness lingered at the toss, with Suryakumar and Agha skipping handshakes just like last time. Andy Pycroft oversees the match as referee.
India’s playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan’s playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Cricket fans around the world are glued to this India-Pakistan rivalry in the Asia Cup, promising edge-of-your-seat action in Dubai.
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