Former Indian cricketer and renowned commentator Aakash Chopra thanked Pakistani skipper Babar Azam for opting to bowl first during the Super Four clash against the Blues in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Monday.
On Sunday, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first on a sunny day, which came as a surprise to many as batting first in those conditions would have been suitable.
The fears of everyone were further confirmed when India got off to a flying start courtesy of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma's aggressive century-stand.
Colombo's wicket has a history of troubling the chasing side and Azam's decision for opting to ball first, knowing Pakistan have the required pace to defend any target, was not welcomed by everyone.
Chopra took to his X, formerly known as Twitter, account and thanked Pakistani skipper for opting to bowl first.
"This is a different pitch under lights. The highest chase at Colombo is under 300 for a reason. Can’t thank Babar enough for electing to bowl first after winning the toss. #IndvPak #AsiaCup," Chopra wrote on X.
Not only Chopra, but former Pakistani pacer Wahab Riaz also questioned Azam's decision earlier.
"I feel this is India's strategy to bat their 50 overs and let rain come and washout the game (laughs). Jokes apart, I think even if the game had got shortened, Pakistan would have had an advantage as it would have gone in T20 mode. So any captain who would have won the toss in these conditions could have chosen to bowl first," Riaz said.
It must be noted that the play between Pakistan and India was resumed on reserve day on Monday as the match was called off on Sunday due to rain.
By the time this story was filed, the play was once again stopped due to rain as Pakistan was batting at 44-2 in 11 overs.
Batting first, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul scored stunning centuries as India set Pakistan a massive target of 357 runs.
India finished on 356-2 in their allotted 50 overs as Pakistan remained wicketless on the reserve day.
Kohli remained unbeaten on 122 runs in 94 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes.
Meanwhile, Rahul was not out on 111 runs in 106 balls which included 14 boundaries.