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IND vs PAK | Mohammed Shami Misses Out As India Bat First In the Asia Cup Clash

image-lm1swjzuVirat Kohli will be key batter for India (Twitter)

It's time for the mother of all clashes as India take on Pakistan in their opening Asia Cup clash. The Men in Blue have won the toss and have elected to bat first on a Pallekele pitch that has something for both batters and bowlers. Pakistan who are bowling first declared their playing XI a day back are going with the same team that played in the tournament opener. For India, Mohammed Shami misses out as Shardul Thakur has been selected as the third seamer along with Siraj and Bumrah.

Both the skippers wanted to bat first and the pitch is on the slower side, so it might get difficult to bat on as the game progresses. India have two spinners in their arsenal, with Kuldeep yadav and Jadeja around. Shreyas Iyer will bat at 4 and India would be hoping that he fires at that position. Ishan Kishan might bat at 5 in the absence of KL Rahul.

Here are the playing XIs of both the sides -

India Playing XI : Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj


Pakistan Playing XI : Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

Here is what two captains said -

Rohit Sharma (India Captain): "We are going to bat first. Honestly, I mean look, there is a bit of weather around but cannot think too much about it. Come and play good cricket, raise the game, raise the situation. Luckily, we had some time off after the West Indies series. We had time and got all the players for the Bangalore camp. Everyone had their skills tested and performed the drills. Let's see what we can achieve in this tournament. Guys are up for it.

At the end of the day, we need to think what we can do and achieve as a team, that's important. Yeah, I mean look, the last ODI series we played in West Indies, Shreyas is back, Bumrah is back. We have three seamers- Shardul, Siraj, and Bumrah, and Hardik is obviously there. Kuldeep and Jadeja are the two spinners."

Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain): "We would have also batted first but we will try to utilize the conditions and try to take early wickets. We have played a lot of cricket here in the last month. So we know the conditions very well.The Asia Cup is good because the top teams are playing. Before the World Cup, it gives us a good chance to prepare.

We are unchanged from the previous game. When you perform, it always gives you confidence and we will try to utilize it. India vs Pakistan is always an intense match and we will try to be at our best."

For Pakistan, their pace trio will be key with the kind of quality they have. The battle between Shaheen Afridi and Indian top order especially will be key as they have struggled in the past against the left-handers. Their middle order is bit vulnerable but the century from Iftikhar Ahmed in the last game will give them lot of confidence.

It promises to be a cracking encounter with two quality sides looking to stamp their authority.