India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2023 Live Score: Rohit Sharma and Co. Lose 12th ODI Toss in a Row, Opt to Bowl First

Rohit Sharma and India's misery with the toss continues as they've lost the coin flip for the 12th ODI running. It's an unwanted world record as they become the first team in history to lose the toss 12 ODIs in a row.

India's dismal run with the toss in ODIs continues as they lost the coin flip for the 12th consecutive match on Friday. The dismal streak began in November 2023 and is now a world record. Netherlands previously held the record, losing 11 tosses in a row from March 2011 to August 2013.

The losing streak meant India were asked to bowl first in the high-profile clash against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium.

Both teams made changes to their playing XIs, with Pakistan being forced into one due to an injury. Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the tournament, and Imam-ul-Haq took his place in the lineup. India, on the other hand, remained unchanged from their encounter with Bangladesh.

After winning the toss, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan opted to bat first, citing the good batting surface and their desire to set a challenging target. He also emphasized the importance of every match in ICC events and highlighted that the team would approach the game normally. Rizwan expressed confidence in his players' familiarity with the conditions and their past successes in Dubai.

"Will bat first, looks like a good surface. Want to put up a good target. Every match is important in ICC events, we will keep things normal. The boys are familiar with these conditions. We have done well here and want to do our best today. We lost our last game, but it is past for us now," said Rizwan.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma downplayed the significance of losing the toss, stating that they would bowl first anyway. He observed that the pitch appeared similar to the last game, with a slower surface. Sharma highlighted the experience of his batting unit in handling such conditions and emphasized the need for an overall performance from the team. He also noted that their last game was not easy, which he found beneficial.

"Doesn't really matter, they won the toss so we'll bowl first. Looks similar to the last game, the surface is on the slower side. We have an experienced unit in batting so we know what we need to do if the pitches get slower. Need an overall performance from the team - with bat and ball. The last game wasn't an easy one for us, which is always nice. You want to be under pressure and test yourself," said Sharma.

Here are the Playing XIs for India vs Pakistan:

Pakistan's playing XI

Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (capt and wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

India's playing XI

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

Pitch report for India vs Pakistan by Ian Bishop and Sunil Gavaskar:

"We are two pitches over from that game where India played Bangladesh. Overcast conditions - absolutely fine - about 31 degrees Celsius, it feels a little bit warmer than that. Dimensions - 70m square either side, 81m down the ground. What we can expect is pretty similar to what we saw a couple of days ago. That time the pitch was on the slower side. There was just a hint of spin for the wrist-spinner and occasional turn for the finger spinner. But the pacers were the ones to take the wickets because the ball wasn't coming onto the bat. They used the slower bouncers to good effect. The spinners kept it quiet in the middle overs. Whichever team that bowls well will be able to contain the batters. This is a pitch where it won't be easy to hit sixes. A score of about 270 should be a score you could defend."