India wins toss, elects to chase against Afghanistan in 25-over contest

Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 13 (ANI): Indian skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to field against Afghanistan in the first ODI on Saturday at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, in Dharamsala.

The match will be played as a 25-overs-a-side contest, with each team allowed a maximum of five bowlers, who can bowl up to five overs each after rain halted the fixture for more than 2 hours. A five-over batting Powerplay will also be in effect.

India will continue their preparations for next year’s ODI World Cup without several key players. Senior stars including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Siraj are unavailable, having either been rested or sidelined through injury.

“We will bowl first. It’s a bit overcast, so the bowlers might get some help. Looks like a good surface, good wicket to bat on, could be something early on for the pacers. It’s all about trying different combinations to see what works for us. We’re playing around 15-20 ODIs before the World Cup, so it’s about trying things. We’re going with two debutants. Jaiswal, Prince and Kuldeep miss out,” Gill said during the toss.

“If we win the toss, we also wanted to bowl first, but again, the toss is not in our hands, and we need to start well right from the start of the game. We did very well in the recent past, but at the same time, it’s the first time we are playing India in their own condition. So it’s been a tough battle for both sides, and we are excited and ready for that challenge, and hopefully, we do well here. We have three seamers and three spinners in a combination. So two seamers, one all-rounder and three spinners,” Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said.

Teams:

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil(w), Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi.

India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill(c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(w), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna. (ANI)

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