Daijiworld Media Network
Birmingham, Jun 4 : Pakistan, until recently, carried the weight of the world under Azhar Ali and barely managed to sneak into this tournament. Sarfraz Ahmed then happened, and Pakistan looked a little better, a little more urgent, a little more modern, but they're still ranked eighth and carry the impression of an old man lost in a console shop. They have a vulnerable India in front of them, and it's a chance, as I said before.
'It's a very, very good colour. The moisture content isn't very much and it looks a very good surface. There's a bit of rough at places but nothing bothering. Only 55 overs were played in the last game. Side winning the toss will want to bat. India might go with four fast bowlers, but I would have gone with two spinners. Very good surface and one you'd want to get in on,' says Sourav Ganguly in his pitch report.
Ganesh says that Ashwin and Karthik aren't taking active part in the warm-ups, meaning Pandya and Yuvraj are in.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan (Playing XI): Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali
Kohli: 'Big game. I think the side batting second will have pressure. Pretty good wicket, so will stay even throughout. The wicket is nice and hard, so the fast bowlers can come in at any time of the day. Will look to use our main strength, that is batting. It's just a game of cricket for me anywhere in the world. It's not about one individual, and all eleven are as good as each other. If anyone takes any of us lightly, they can take the game away. As I said, we need a complete performance and today is no different. Guys feel normal, the preps are normal (about the IndoPak game). Their team hasn't changed much, so we have our plans set in place. The five bowles are Bumrah, Yadav, Bhuvneshwar and Jadeja. Hardik is the all-rounder.'
Sarfraz: 'I will bowl. Good pitch, won't change in the second innings as well. As a team, we will hopefully do well. I think India-Pakistan is a special game. Our batting is very much better, so hopefully we will do well. Shadab is in.'
Pakistan have won the toss and have opted to field
Zaman, Junaid, and Haris aren't being considered for Pakistan, as announced yesterday, so it looks like a swap between Fahim Ashraf and Imad Wasim. Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali form the pace troika, which let me tell you, isn't bad. But will they be able to deliver in an India game is what the talk at Karachi's chowks will be. And then Arthur will say that they have a Kohli, too, in Babar Azam.