Shubman Gill has returned for the India-Pakistan World Cup 2023 clash after missing the first two matches due to dengue fever, while Shardul Thakur has retained his place over Ravichandran Ashwin.
India captain Rohit Sharma opted to bowl first after winning the toss as India looked to extend their lead to 7-0 in the men’s ODI World Cup match. Gill returned to the starting XI after missing the games against Australia and Afghanistan due to dengue fever. He replaced southpaw Ishan Kishan in the lineup. Gill is the top run-scorer among all his ODI teams in 2023 as he scores 1,230 runs at an average of 72.35.
On the other hand, Shardul Thakur was preferred over Ravichandran Ashwin due to the high voltage fight. The use of black soil in the preparation of Ahmedabad’s pitch may also have contributed to this decision, as a high-scoring match was at stake.
In the first two games, the home team looked dangerous. In the last match against Afghanistan, skipper Rohit’s 131 (84) blitz helped the Men in Blue reach 273 in 35 overs.
Pakistan will play in India for the first time since the 2016 T20I World Cup. In the last match against Sri Lanka, Babar Azam’s team completed the best run chase in the history of the tournament. Chasing 345, Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafiq performed a masterpiece as they both piled up huge bullets to miss the huge target. They have named the same eleven for today’s epic match.
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