Dubai [UAE], September 28 : India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl against arch-rival Pakistan in the Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. India will miss the services of Hardik Pandya, who has been ruled out of the title-deciding clash due to a niggle, and Rinku Singh has come in to replace him.
During India's Super Over win over Sri Lanka in their final Super Fours fixture, Hardik bowled just one over throughout the contest. Bowling coach Morne Morkel had provided an update on Hardik and told reporters, "Hardik, we will assess tonight and tomorrow morning and make a call. But both of them struggled with cramps."
Coming to the final, out of the 12 finals across formats that both sides have competed in, Pakistan boasts an 8-4 lead. The last encounter between the two arch-rivals ended with a 180-run win at the Champions Trophy 2017 final for Pakistan. In the previous two encounters in the tournament, India has gunned down the target posed by Pakistan on both occasions. India has stormed into the final unbeaten, while Pakistan has lost twice and both against their arch-rival.
After Suryakumar won the toss, he revealed his decision to bowl while speaking to former head coach and presenter Ravi Shastri. He explained his decision behind bowling first and said, "We will bowl first. It looks like a good wicket. The wicket gets better under lights. We have been batting well first, but we would like to chase today. The groundsmen have done a terrific job with the wickets here. The brand of cricket we have been playing for the last 5-6 games is pretty good. Unfortunately, Hardik misses out with a niggle. Bumrah, Dube and Rinku come in."
Notably, Salman Agha conversed with former Pakistan speedster Waqar Younis during the toss and said, "Definitely happy to bat first. We are very excited and looking forward to this game. We haven't played a perfect game, and hopefully we play one today. Same side. We have been playing on these pitches for a while, and it will play the same."
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris(w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.