Premium Indian pacer Mohammed Shami left the field due to fitness concerns dealt India a serious blow. After bowling just three overs, Shami left the field due to some soreness around his ankle. Rohit Sharma will be worried about Shami's fitness. After nearly missing a year of action because of an injury he got during the 2023 ODI World Cup, the bowler returned to the Indian team with the England white-ball series. He pulled up five wickets in a fantastic performance against Bangladesh. Mohammed Shami was spearheading the Indian pace attack while Jasprit Bumrah was sidelined with an injury.
Rohit Sharma hopes Shami's injury is not too severe and that he can resume bowling soon. India has chosen to use Hardik Pandya and two pacers as fast-bowling alternatives. Spinners in the latter overs could be a problem, but they do have the bowlers to fill up the overs. However, Shami returned to the field in the 9th over.
Pakistan elect to bat first
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. Imam Ul Haq was added to the playing XI in place of Fakhar Zaman, who was injured and unable to compete in the competition. However, India chose to enter with the same combination. At the time of writing, Pakistan have already lost two wickets.
Babar Azam gave the team a good start and scored 23 off 26 balls. However, Hardik Pandya removed the former captain and brought India back into the game later a run out from Axar Patel also sent back Imam-ul-Haq.
IND vs PAK Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed