Suryakumar Yadav: We will bowl first. It looks a good wicket. The wicket gets better under lights. We have been batting well first but we would like to chase today. The groundsmen have done a terrific job with the wickets here. The brand of cricket we have been playing for the last 5-6 games is pretty good. Unfortunately Hardik misses out.

Salman Agha: Definitely happy to bat first. We are very excited and looking forward to this game. We haven't played a perfect game and hopefully we play one today. Same side. We have been playing on these pitches for a while and it will play the same.

Pitch report: No surprises that India opted to bowl. They have chased 8 times against Pakistan and won all those games. Pitch looks like a featherbed. There is less grass and it looks flat. Only thing is it might get a little slower because of the lack of grass. It is the same pitch used for both India-Pakistan games and India have chased both times. 170 in a final is like 180-190 in a league game. May not be match winning but you can certainly put pressure on the opposition. India have strengthened their batting. Hardik is a tough pill to swallow because it's difficult to balance the side. He is an all-rounder and influences the combination - opine Simon Doull and Ravi Shastri

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris(w), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

Shubman Gill for India in Finals

28, 8 (2021 WTC)
13, 18 (2023 WTC)
27* (2023 Asia Cup)
4 (2023 Worldcup)
31 (2025 CT)
12 (2025 Asia Cup)*

Supreme Court is expected to hear petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 which bans real-money online gaming on October 7