NEW DELHI: Playing the first ODI match since the 2019 World Cup, the crucial high-profile India versus Pakistan Group A Asia Cup encounter got underway in Pallekele on Saturday.
It is the first match for India in their Asia Cup campaign while Pakistan crushed Nepal in the tournament opener in Multan on Wednesday.
Skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first in the marquee clash.
Here's what the captains of the two teams said at the toss.
Rohit Sharma - We are going to bat first. There is a bit of weather around, but can't think much about it. Got to play good cricket, you need to embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had some time off after the West Indies series. Everyone was up for those drills and challenges in Bangalore. Let's see what we can achieve in this tournament. It's a quality tournament with quality oppositions. At the end of the day we need to see what we can achieve as a team. Shreyas Iyer is back, Jasprit Bumrah is back and we got three seamers. Got two spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
Babar Azam - We would have batted first, but toss is not in our hands. We have played a lot of cricket here, so we know the conditions. Top teams are playing so Asia Cup is good. We'll try to do our best. We are playing with the same combination, no changes. Performing well always gives you confidence, we'll try to capitalize. It's a high intensity match, we'll try to be calm and composed.
