Team India captain Rohit Sharma won the all-important toss and elected to field against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup fixture at the Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14 (Saturday). India made one change to their playing XI as Shubman Gill returned and Ishan Kishan made way for the right-handed batter. Pakistan went in with the same playing XI that featured in the previous match.
Both teams come into this game on the back of strong performances in their opening World Cup 2023 matches. India, under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, showcased their prowess by defeating the formidable Australians and later dominating Afghanistan in Delhi. Pakistan, not to be left behind, started their campaign with a convincing 81-run win, followed by an impressive chase of 345 runs against Sri Lanka.
When the toss took place, there was a moment which left the India skipper unable to speak. He was announcing the India Playing XI when he mentioned the return of Gill, after which the whole stadium erupted in joy at the return of the prodigious opening batter,
Gill has missed the first two matches of the ODI World Cup after suffering a bout of Dengue. But Shubman showed speedy recovery and was taken to Ahmedabad on October 11. He was also seen toiling hard in India's practice session in Ahmedabad on October 12.
He also earned a coveted ICC Men's Player of the Month Award in September 2023, which is his second time in the same year. Gill pipped his own teammate Mohammed Siraj to taste this glory. Gill won the ICC Men's Player of the Month Award right ahead of the India versus Pakistan clash on October 14.
India and Pakistan have so far played seven matches in the ODI World Cup and Men in Blue have a great track record against the arch-rivals as they have won all the battles. This will be the eighth time that the arch-nemesis will be up against each other.
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