India and Pakistan are locking horns with each other for the 2nd time in as many weeks in the ongoing season of the Asia Cup. Both the teams have made it to the Super Four stage of the tournament and they are eyeing to kick off their 2nd round campaign with a win. To add energy to the fixture, former Indian all-rounder, Ravi Shastri made his return to the commentary box and was also part of the panel discussion.
For the first time since the IPL 2022 final, Ravi Shastri was seen presenting the toss ceremony for the all-important match. Shastri’s energy level was at its peak and it saw Rohit Sharma sharing a smile with Babar Azam. The two captains could not keep their emotions under check and shared a smile.
The coin has favoured Babar, check out below what Pakistan chose to do!
Keep watching #INDvPAK at the DP World #AsiaCup2022 on Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar!#BelieveInBlue #GreatestRivalry – Round2 pic.twitter.com/C2PyULDCRB
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) September 4, 2022
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Men in Green had one change in their playing XI. Mohammad Hasnain has replaced Shahnawaz Dahani in the final XI. However, even during the toss, Ravi Shastri got it wrong as Babar called it ‘tails’ after Rohit flicked the coin, but the former India cricketer heard ‘heads’ which he announced on the mic.
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Match Referee Andy Pycroft intervened and informed Shastri about the call made by the Pakistan skipper who eventually won the toss. India had a total of 3 changes – out of which 2 were forced. Ravindra Jadeja is out of the tournament due to a knee injury while Avesh Khan is down with a fever. Dinesh Karthik was dropped from the XI, with the team management needing a southpaw like Rishabh Pant.
Deepak Hooda, Ravi Bishnoi, and Hardik Pandya have been included in the playing XI. Pandya was rested against Hong Kong. India defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in their first league stage fixture and will hope to emulate that success in this tie.
WATCH: Rahul Dravid hilariously reacts in India’s pre-match press conference vs Pakistan
India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah
