Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in a Super Four match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, here on Tuesday.
Speaking at the toss, Shanaka mentioned that the decision to bowl first was taken considering the winning record of chasing sides in recent games, adding that they are playing with the same XI, which helped them win the last game.
"We'll bowl first because of the record here. All the last three games have been chased down here. The approach has been outstanding by our batters and we hope to continue the same. The coaching staff and the players have created the environment for the new players to come in and deliver. No changes," the Sri Lanka skipper said.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma-led India made one change in their playing XI as Ravichandran Ashwin came in place of Ravi Bishnoi.
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"We would have bowled first as well. The pitch doesn't change much and it only gets better to bat on. This gives us an opportunity to come out and play freely. This is how the World Cup would be played as well, and we have to make sure that we don't lose too many games. We need to ensure that we are there from the word go," said Rohit.
"We have to learn a lot when you are defending a score like that. With the dew, we need to learn the lines, the lengths and the boundaries well. The grass is less tonight. It looks drier, and we have one change on the basis of the Sri Lankan team: Ashwin comes in for Bishnoi," he added.
Playing XIs:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(wk), Charith Asalanka, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(wk), Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
