Bangladesh Chooses to Bat Against India

 Bangladesh stand-in captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 clash here at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Thursday.

Bangladesh's regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who is battling an injury, opted to sit out this clash while India announced an unchanged team.

After registering back-to-back three victories in the ongoing World Cup, Rohit Sharma-led Team India is on a red-hot streak and will aim to keep their unbeaten record going against Bangladesh.

Their opponents, on the other hand, will aim to get their World Cup campaign back on track after crushing, back-to-back defeats.

Speaking at the toss, Bangladesh's stand-in skipper Shanto said, "Proud moment for me and my family. We'd like to bat today. Looks like a fresh wicket. If we put some good score, it'll be good for the team. He (Shakib) is struggling a bit, and Nasum is coming in for him. We have some great memories against India, hopefully, we continue our form. I hope it'll be a great match. We love to see the crowd, hopefully, they'll support both teams."

India captain Rohit Sharma seemed to have qualms about losing the toss, saying, "I would have bowled first. It's (the preferred Indian playing eleven) working at this point of time, don't see any reason to change it. That's important in this WC, keeping everybody in a good space. The boys are in good shape, have good mental space as well and are enjoying the cricket. So far so good, we want to continue this momentum."

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.