In an anticipated toss, India’s skipper Rohit Sharma flipped the toss and it fell in India’s favor as the blue team chose to bowl first against Babar-led Pakistan in the World Cup 2023 fixture in Ahmedabad.
Rohit Sharma shared his views at the toss: “Cant get bigger than this. It is a fantastic atmosphere. It is what you dream for playing in front of a big crowd.”
He said, “It is a good pitch which is not going to change too much. Dew can be a factor in the second stage of the game,” he said.
Rohit added, “Gill is back in place of Ishan. Unfortunate for him [Ishan] to miss out. I feel for him as he has stepped up for us, but Gill has been a superb player for India in the last year, especially at this ground here [for IPL team, Gujarat Titans].”
Babar Azam said that he would have bowled first if he he won the toss.
“I don’t think about the past, I’d rather focus on future,” Babar told reporters with a wry smile on his face on Friday. “All records are meant to be broken, and we’ll try to break this record.”
India has a perfect 7-0 record against Pakistan in the 50-overs World Cup and is also the top-ranked ODI team, who have won both their matches in the tournament so far.
But under Babar, Pakistan broke a Twenty20 World Cup sequence of five defeats against India with a 10-wicket rout in Dubai in 2021.
Babar acknowledged conditions in Ahmedabad are different from those at Hyderabad where Pakistan played two warm-up games and their first two World Cup matches.
Babar said, “Yes, the conditions here are different. You are better off at a venue where you have spent a few days but we will adapt.”
