Dharamshala, June 13: India has won the toss and elected to bowl in the opening match of the ODI series against Afghanistan, held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. Due to rain, the match has been reduced to 25 overs per side. The Indian team features two debutants in this encounter.
The toss took place at 5:15 PM after the rain ceased, with play scheduled to start at 5:45 PM. Both teams will bat for 25 overs, allowing five bowlers to bowl five overs each, while the batting powerplay will consist of five overs.
The Indian squad includes bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey and fast bowler Gurnoor Barar, who are making their international debuts. Harsh has scored 1,026 runs and taken 133 wickets in 27 first-class matches, while in 30 List A matches, he has bagged 31 wickets and scored 296 runs. He has also played 38 T20 matches, claiming 34 wickets.
On the other hand, Gurnoor Barar has taken 52 wickets in 18 first-class matches and 12 wickets in nine List A games. He has also secured 10 wickets in 10 T20 matches.
After winning the toss, Indian captain Shubman Gill stated, “We will bowl first. There are some clouds in the sky, which might assist the bowlers. The pitch looks good for batting. The fast bowlers may get some help initially. Our aim is to try different combinations to see what works for us. We are playing around 15-20 ODIs before the World Cup, so it’s a chance to experiment. We are going in with two debutants. Yashasvi, Prince, and Kuldeep are not in the team.”
Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi remarked, “We wanted to bowl first, but it’s not in our hands. We need to start well with the bat. We have performed well recently. This is our first time playing in India under their home conditions. We are excited and hope to perform well. The team consists of three fast bowlers and three spinners, including one fast-bowling all-rounder.”
India’s Playing XI: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Barar, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna.
Afghanistan’s Playing XI: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wicketkeeper), Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Gzhanfar, and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi.
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