PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — India won the toss and elected to bat first in an Asia Cup showdown against Pakistan on Saturday.
It’s India’s first game in the one day international tournament. Pakistan beat Nepal in the competition’s curtain raiser.
The ODI is billed as a clash between Pakistan’s quicks and India’s top order. Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf all clock above 140 kmph (87 mph) while India’s formidable top order consists of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
India left out fast bowler Mohammad Shami and picked Shardul Thakur to provide more cover in batting.
Pakistan opted to play the same team that won the first game against Nepal in Group A.
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Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi.
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
