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02/15 08:00 CST Pakistan wins toss and fields in marquee game against India at T20 World Cup. No handshakes again Pakistan wins toss and fields in marquee game against India at T20 World Cup. No handshakes again By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) --- Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has won the toss and elected to field in the most-anticipated game of the Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday as the two captains refrained from shaking hands because of military and diplomatic tensions between the two neighbors. Political tensions between the two nations have often boiled over on to the cricket field. Sunday's game is the first time the teams have met since last year's acrimonious Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates that was won by India and where players refused to shake hands. Since the Asia Cup where Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart Agha, the practice has been followed in the subsequent women's and Under 19 world cups. There was speculation earlier that the International Cricket Council may have resolved the conflict when it persuaded Pakistan to play the India game after it had threatened a boycott earlier this month. India fielded a full-strength team with the return of hard-hitting opener Abhishek Sharma, who missed India's tie against Namibia because of a stomach infection. It fields three specialist spin bowlers to suit the pitch at R. Premadasa Stadium, calling up Kuldeep Yadav who did not feature in the Namibia game. Seam bowler Arshdeep Singh makes way for him. Pakistan, meanwhile, fielded an unchanged side from the one that beat the United States.

West Indies makes it 3 in 3 At Mumbai, West Indies notched its third successive win in Group C when it thumped Nepal by nine wickets and qualified for the Super 8 stage of the tournament. West Indies had already beat Scotland and England to take command of Group C. Nepal showed plenty of promise in its first game when it lost narrowly to England, but then two heavy defeats against first-timer Italy and Sunday against West Indies saw it eliminated. Fast bowler Jason Holder grabbed 4-27 and restricted Nepal to 133-8 after captain Shai Hope won the toss and elected to field. Hope then smashed an unbeaten 61 off 44 balls and Shimron Hetmyer scored 46 off 32 balls as West Indies cruised to 134-1 in 15.2 overs. Nepal had stuttered to 6-73 in 15 overs but Dipendra Singh Airee (58) and Sompal Kami (26 not out) contributed a 54-run stand in the death overs to give the total some respectability.

US keeps slim hopes alive with win in Chennai Sanjay Krishnamurthi kept America's slender hopes of Super 8 qualification alive with a maiden T20 half-century -- 68 not out off 33 balls -- against Namibia in their Group A clash. Skipper Monank Patel also scored 52 off 30 balls as the U.S. notched up its tournament highest score -- 199-4 in 20 overs. Patel was second out just past halfway, and then the U.S. was down to 103-3. Krishnamurthi then put up 87 off 46 balls with Milind Kumar (28), en route to his first T20 World Cup half-century off 23 balls. He hit six sixes. In reply, Namibia was restricted to 168-6, losing its third game and is now eliminated from the competition. Opener Louren Steenkamp scored 58 off 39 balls, but the target proved too far off. Medium-pacer Shadley Van Schalkwyk picked up 2-30 to take his tally to 13 wickets -- highest in the tournament. The U.S. won its final game by 31 runs, and now awaits the result in Colombo, depending on other results for any hope of progression.

All eyes on Colombo But Colombo remains the focal point on Sunday where the marquee game of the tournament begins at 7 p.m. local time (1330 GMT). In the lead-up to the match, Pakistan captain Agha said he believed it was up to the Indian players to decide whether they will shake hands with his team before and after Sunday's game. Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, for his part, was non-committal. "Why are you highlighting that?" Suryakumar asked reporters on the eve of the game. "We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow." Pakistan's government considered not playing Sunday's match after the International Cricket Council kicked Bangladesh out of the World Cup for refusing to play matches in India, citing security concerns. Pakistan only agreed to play after intense discussions with the ICC. The fixture is a major revenue earner for the ICC.

Tensions running high India went on to win the contentious Asia Cup but refused to accept the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi. "The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started. The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do," Agha told the media on Saturday about the possibility of the players shaking hands. Political and military tensions have meant the two teams have not played a bilateral series for years. India has not traveled to Pakistan since 2008 and Pakistan visited India for the 50-over World Cup in 2023 but has since played ICC tournaments at neutral venues. India has defeated Pakistan 12 times in the 16 T20 games they have played. It also has an impressive 6-1 record in the eight T20 World Cup matches since the first edition in 2007, with one being tied. __ AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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