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Shoaib Akhtar and Rohit Sharma (File Phot, Twitter)
India and Pakistan are locking horns with each other in the iconic clash of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both teams are facing each other for the eighth time in the history of the ODI World Cup. The hosts’ skipper Rohit Sharma won the flip of the coin and asked Pakistan to bat first.
However, former legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar felt that it wasn’t a wise decision by the Indian skipper to bat first after winning the toss. Akhtar also supported his statement with the fact that Narendra Modi Stadium’s surface is quite a bit more batting-friendly.
"They are off to a flyer. It was not a wise decision by India." - Shoaib Akhtar
Apart from that, the former bowling legend also questioned India’s decision to not play with an extra spinner and he also said that the hosts gave chance to Pakistan to post a big total on the board in the first innings.
“It is a very good wicket. Rohit Sharma winning the toss and fielding first is beyond me. Also, I don't know why they didn't play an extra spinner. I am very happy that Pakistan got to bat first here. They are off to a flyer. It was not a wise decision by India. They have given Pakistan a chance to score big runs,” said Shoaib Akhtar in a video he shared on his official X handle.
Talking about the current action of the match, Pakistan have scored 131 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 26.1 overs, having skipper Babar Azam and vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan there in the middle on the individual scores of 37 runs each. Pakistan lost their both openers on a total score of 73 runs in 12.3 overs. Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya dismissed Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq on the individual scores of 20 and 36 runs, respectively.
Notably, India and Pakistan are locking horns with each other for the eighth time in the history of the tournament. Earlier, India had won all the seven clashes they played against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup.