Former India batter Gautam Gambhir had a special message for the fans ahead of the hig-octane clash against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Ahead of the match, Indian fans gathered outside the stadium in huge numbers, but not many Pakistan cricket team afficinados were present at the scene. Speaking on Star Sports after the toss, Gambhir urged the fans not to disrespect the Pakistan team as they are in India to take part in the World Cup, adding that supporting.
"Support your team but don't misbehave with your visitors, after all they are your guests. We havet to remember they are the visitors and here to play the World Cup," Gambhir said.
The Narendra Modi Stadium was a sea of blue due to a largely Indian presence after Pakistan fans from across the boder were unable to secure visas for the match.
Earlier, India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first against Pakistan in a blockbuster World Cup match expected to be attended by 120,000 fans.
Opening batsman Shubman Gill returns to the team and takes the place of Ishan Kishan after recovering from dengue fever and missing the first two matches.
Favourites India come into the match unbeaten with victories over five-time winners Australia and Afghanistan.
Pakistan, who also won their two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, come in unchanged from their previous win.
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
(With AFP Inputs)