India eye series win against Afghanistan
As expected, India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan as they beat their opposition by six wickets on Thursday. With just two T20Is to go before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and ofcourse the entire IPL, India may look to give opportunities to other players, who warmed the bench in the first T20I.
The second T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played on Sunday at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
Head-to-Head
India and Afghanistan have played six T20Is against each other, of which India have won five and one match did not produce result. In India, they have played just the one match, which was the first match of this bilateral series.
| India | Afghanistan | |
| ICC T20I Rankings | 1 | 10 |
| Head-to-Head in T20Is | 5 | 0 |
| In India | 1 | 0 |
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ikram Alikhil (wicket-keeper), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan.
Players to watch out for
Virat Kohli: The former captain of India will return to T20I cricket after a hiatus of 14 months having played his last in November 2022. He missed out on the first T20I due to personal reasons and would be raring to go in the next. In his 115 T20I appearances, he has muscled 4008 runs at a strike rate of 138 and average of 53. He has 37 half centuries and a century under his belt.
Arshdeep Singh: This left arm pacer of India may have gone wicketless in the first T20I against Afghanistan but he was mighty impressive with the new ball. He opened the bowling and bowled a maiden over. Conceding just eight runs in his first two overs in the powerplay, he bowled with surgical precision. At the death, he made good use of slower ones and yorkers to keep the batters guessing.
Mohammad Nabi: The experienced all-rounder of Afghanistan was the top run scorer for his team in the first T20I against India. This right-handed middle order batter packed a punch with a 27-ball 42, an innings that was laced with two fours and three sixes. Besides, he bowled a couple of overs of off spin but was taken to the cleaners as he leaked 24 runs.
Mujeeb Ur Rehman: This off-spinner of Afghanistan was the most successful and economical bowler for his team in the first T20I against India. He was effective inside the powerplay as he scalped the wicket of Shubman Gill in his second over of the spell. He completed his spell of four overs giving away 21 runs and picking two wickets.
Pitch
The venue has hosted three men’s T20Is to date, of which teams batting first have won two. The highest total posted here is 260 and the lowest is 142. Expect favourable conditions for batting which could lead to a high scoring contest. However, there could be some assistance for the spinners as the top two wicket-takers at this venue in T20Is are spinners.
Weather
The weather is expected to be cool and hazy with temperatures hovering around 14 degrees Celsius. There will be 2% cloud cover and no chance of rain. The winds will blow from the west-northwest.
Milestone Alert
- Rohit Sharma will play his 150th T20I
- Axar Patel needs 3 wickets to complete 50 T20I wickets
- Mohammad Nabi needs 81 runs to complete 2000 T20I runs
Match details
Date: January 14, 2024
Time: 7 PM
Venue: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore
Live streaming: Jio Cinema, Sports 18