T20 World Cup: India wins toss, opts to bowl against Pakistan

A few days ago, weather predictions stated rain was sure to affect the game, with more than a 90 per cent chance of showers in the city

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Photo: AFP

By Web Desk

Published: Sun 23 Oct 2022, 11:34 AM

Last updated: Sun 23 Oct 2022, 12:26 PM

The high-octane clash between India and Pakistan is all set to begin at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022.

India has won the toss. They have opted to bowl against Pakistan, keeping the weather and condition of the pitch in mind.

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A few days ago, weather predictions stated rain was sure to affect the game, with more than a 90 per cent chance of showers in the city. Now, it looks like the prayers of millions of fans have been answered as there has been no rain since the morning of October 23 in Melbourne, with a heavy drizzle occurring the previous night.

Cricket fans are awaiting this clash with high anticipation following two close games during the Asia Cup 2022. Though conditions are slightly better, they are far from being great enough for fans who would not settle for anything less than a 40-over game between the two Asian giants.

Speaking at the time of the toss, India skipper Rohit Sharma said, "We are going to field first. Looks like a good pitch, it's always nice with overcast conditions. Think the ball will swing around a bit. Preparations have been good. We played a couple of practice games in Brisbane. Time to come out and enjoy ourselves. We were expecting nothing less than this, hopefully, we'll entertain them. We have seven batters, three seamers and two spinners."

Speaking at the time of the toss, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said, "Toss is not in our hands. We'll try to post around 160-170. We have prepared well, and we are ready for this big game. We won a series back home, and we played a tri-series in New Zealand, so we are prepared. We have three fast bowlers and two spinners."

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.

Pakistan (Playing XI): Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Shan Masood, Haider Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.

(With inputs from ANI)

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Web Desk

Published: Sun 23 Oct 2022, 11:34 AM

Last updated: Sun 23 Oct 2022, 12:26 PM

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