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Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in the second match of the three-match ODI series, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on Wednesday.
Pacer Prince Yadav is set to become the third debutant in the series, after Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar, in the series opener. After winning the toss, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said he chose to bowl first as the pitch looked fresh and likely to assist spin early on. He admitted the team lacked partnerships in the previous match despite showing promise, but expressed confidence that they would bounce back stronger. "We want to bowl first. Wicket looks fresh. I think it'll be spinning in the first innings. In the last game, we played really well, we missed the partnerships. We had one partnership and then threw away our wickets. Hopefully we come back stronger. Our boys have a lot of passion of cricket," he said during the toss presentations. Indian captain Shubman Gill, on the other hand, said India would also have chosen to bowl first and stressed the importance of gaining experience in challenging situations. He confirmed three changes to the playing 11, with Prince Yadav making his debut, while Kuldeep Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to the side. "We would have bowled first as well. It's all about being in difficult situations and getting that experience. Three changes. Prince makes his debut. We've got Kuldeep and Jaiswal in," Gill said. In the previous match, Brar and Dubey picked up three wickets each as Afghanistan were bowled out for 194 in 24.5 overs in a rain-shortened 25-over contest. India then chased down the 195-run target comfortably, with their batters combining aggression and composure to secure a seven-wicket victory. India vs Afghanistan 2nd ODI playing 11s: India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav. Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Darwish Rasooli, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Bilal Sami. (ANI)
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