"They gave different coin, India gets toss coin with heads at both sides"- Fans react after Pakistan's semis hopes end as England opt to bat first
Pakistan's slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup took a massive hit after England opted to bat first against them this afternoon at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
They had to win this match by more than 274 runs to upstage New Zealand's net run rate and secure the fourth semi-final spot. While batting second, their chances were always further unrealistic as they had to chase down the target within 2.3 overs. As a result, their better chance was to bat first in the match on Saturday (November 11) afternoon.
Unfortunately for them, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat first on a dry surface. It is a crucial match for England also, as they need to win this game to stay in contention to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Fans took note of the developments at the toss and took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their reactions as Pakistan is almost out of the 2023 World Cup semi-final race. Here are some of the top reactions:
"We were looking to bat first"- Pakistan captain Babar Azam after losing the toss against England
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam revealed they were looking to bat first in the contest and try to win the game by a big margin. He said:
"We were looking to bat first, but the toss is not in your hands. We have a good bowling attack. We will try to get them out early. Hasan Ali is not playing, Shadab is playing today. Yes, we are also looking forward to Fakhar's innings. We will try our best, our momentum is good, so let's see.
Here are the playing XIs of both the teams:
England XI: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(wk/c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid
Pakistan XI: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf
Do you think England can win this match and push their case for qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy? Let us know your views in the comments section.