Dhaka: Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and decided to bat in their last Asia Cup league match against arch-rivals India at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
India made one change in their playing eleven, replacing injured Ravindra Jadeja with Yusuf Pathan, while Pakistan brought Wahab Riaz in place of Sarfraz Ahmed.
For Team India, it was supposed to be a stage rehearsal for the final, but not anymore. A defeat against Bangladesh has come as a shock for MS Dhoni and his boys and now they are up against a resurgent Pakistan looking for revenge.
Pakistan have already secured a berth in the final with victories over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and will be under less pressure unlike the Indians.
It's the Pakistan bowling attack that is making them look formidable in this tournament. Umar Gul is the spearhead with some decent back-up in the form of Aizaz Cheema, who won the Man of the Match award against Sri Lanka.
The Indians, on the other hand, have to quickly sort out their bowling woes as any mistake could see the team bowing out of the tournament.
The teams have met in two crucial encounters in the last two years (World Cup semifinal in 2011 and Asia Cup in 2010), and India have triumphed on both occasions. But this time, Pakistan hold the aces.
Teams:
India: Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (capt), Yusuf Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan.
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Umar Akmal (wk), Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz