Asia Cup, Pakistan vs India: Babar Azam elects to bowl
India and Pakistan are up against each other in the blockbuster Super Fours Match 3 of the 2023 Asia Cup. Their battle in the group stage of the event got washed out and rain can impact this game as well. A reserve day has been put in place for this match. Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has won the toss and elected to bowl.
Pitch report, timing, and broadcast details
The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host this contest on Saturday (September 10). As the track here is usually on the slower side, spinners can get substantial assistance. Batters showing application would be awarded with runs. The conditions here have been overcast in recent days. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app (3:00pm IST).
Here are the stadium stats
Chasing teams have won 85 of the 156 ODIs here, losing 61 (Average first innings score: 232). 375/5 by India in 2017 is the highest team score here. Sri Lanka own the highest-successful chase at this venue, 292/4 versus Australia in 2022. While India have 23 of their 42 completed ODIs here, Pakistan have 14 wins and eight defeats here.
Here are the key performers
Virat Kohli has clobbered 519 runs across eight ODI innings in Colombo at 103.80. Jasprit Bumrah has returned with 15 wickets in five ODIs in Sri Lanka. Iftikhar Ahmed and Babar Azam scored fiery centuries in the Asia Cup opener against Nepal. Haris Rauf is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing tournament, having scalped nine wickets in three matches.
India 7-5 Pakistan in Asia Cup (ODIs)
As far as the ODI editions of the Asia Cup are concerned, India and Pakistan have met 14 times. While the Men in Blue have emerged winners seven times, Pakistan walked away with five wins (NR: 2). Since 2010, India have won four of their six ODI Asia Cup encounters against the Men in Green. Pakistan would be raring to improve their record.
Two changes in the Indian camp
India have made two changes as Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the previous clash against Nepal due to the birth of his first child, has replaced Mohammed Shami in the XI. KL Rahul has replaced Shreyas Iyer, who sustained a back spasm. Hence, Ishan Kishan has retained his place. Meanwhile, Pakistan have not made any changes to the XI that recently defeated Bangladesh.
Here are the playing XIs
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj. Pakistan (Playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
