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Watch: Shastri makes blunder at toss after Babar Azam calls tails, leaves referee confused before start of IND vs PAK
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Babar Azam said his team took a lot of positives from the last game against India, where it suffered a five-wicket defeat in the group stage of Asia Cup 2022.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bowl first against arch-rivals India in the second match of the 'Super 4' stage of the ongoing Asia Cup on Sunday. Babar said his team took a lot of positives from the last game against India, where it suffered a five-wicket loss in the group stage of the six-team competition. The flip of coin prior to the second Indo-Pak contest also featured a bit of confusion with Ravi Shastri saying Babar has called out heads. But replays suggested that Babar actually said tails at the toss. Follow India vs Pakistan Live Score, Asia Cup 2022
Match referee Andy Pycroft also confirmed what Babar said before the Pakistan skipper had a customary chat with Shastri. "We will bowl first. The dew could be a factor, that's the reason we're bowling first. We had a lot of positives from the last match against India. The message is to play positively – one change for us with Hasan Ali coming in," he said.
Hasan Ali replaced injured Shahnawaz Dahani for Pakistan. India made three changes from the last Pakistan game with Rishabh Pant coming in place of Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya returning to the playing XI.
Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi got his first look-in as India are coping with multiple blows. Avesh Khan is out with fever, while Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.
Rohit said they would have bowled first as well had he won the toss but stressed on playing freely in the much-hyped contest. He also revealed that Jadeja has returned home and it was a "headache" selecting the team for their opening match in the Super Four stage.
The India captain said – "We would have bowled first, but now we need to play freely and assess a good score on this pitch. Momentum counts in this format, you've to be on the money from the start, not worry about external pressures."
“Injury is something we can't control, Jadeja has been ruled out and he's back home. It was a headache to select the playing XI - Hardik comes back. Deepak Hooda gets a game and so does Ravi Bishnoi,” he added.
The top two teams at the end of the Super Four stage will play the final at the same venue on September 11. The competition acts as a precursor to the impending World T20 in October-November in Australia.
India: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah.
