DHARAMSHALA, India — On a rainy Saturday, India, led by Shubman Gill, won the toss and chose to bowl first against Afghanistan in a one-day international (ODI) match. The rain caused a delay of over four hours, leading to a reduction of the game to just 25 overs per side.
This series marks the first bilateral ODI encounters between India and Afghanistan. The second match is scheduled for Wednesday in Lucknow, while the final game will take place in Chennai on June 20.
Historically, India and Afghanistan have only faced each other in World Cup and Asia Cup matches, with India winning three of their four encounters and one match finishing in a tie.
India heads into this match after losing three of their last five ODIs, while Afghanistan comes in strong, having won four consecutive matches. Just last week, India achieved a remarkable innings and 300-run victory over Afghanistan in a test match that concluded in less than three days.
For India, two new players made their ODI debuts: left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey and pacer Gurnoor Brar. Star batsman Rohit Sharma returns to the team, but Virat Kohli is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Hardik Pandya is also missing due to injury, and Jasprit Bumrah is resting.
The pitch appears to favor pace bowlers, with the likelihood of more rain benefiting the chasing team.
Team Lineups:
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Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi
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India: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
