Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the second ODI of their three-match series as India handed international debut to young fast bowler Prince Yadav at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow on Wednesday.
There are few changes to both teams’ squads and India made three changes to their playing XI for the match. Also making his debut was Prince Yadav, who accompanied him along with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kuldeep Yadav as regulars in the side. Harsh Dubey, Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy were also excluded, with Indian skipper Shubman Gill confirming that Reddy had been ruled out due to sore left thigh.
The strategy of selecting Prince Yadav is a reward for his outstanding domestic and IPL performances. He has also played for the Lucknow Super Giants in last two IPL seasons and is well accustomed with the conditions in Lucknow at the Ekana Stadium.
Afghanistan, too, made changes to their XI and gave batter Darwish Rasooli his first cap in ODIs. New faces: Spinner Nangeyalia Kharote and pacer Bilal Sami were brought into the playing XI. In the absence of ace all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who was ill, and Azmatullah Omarzai suffering an injury before the game during practice, Afghanistan went in to bat after losing the toss. The new additions also meant a place had to be made for the likes of fast bowler Ziaur Rahman.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi expected spin to play a part in the first innings after winning the toss on a fresh-looking surface. His team did not build partnerships and lost wickets at vital stages in the opening ODI and he was confident they had learned from it.
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Afghanistan came into the ODI series 0-1 down after a seven-wicket defeat in a rain-affected opening one-dayer in Dharamsala. That challenge in Lucknow now differs entirely, as hot and humid conditions are likely to make it feel close to 40 degrees Celsius. Three drinks breaks were scheduled in the first innings as officials tried to help players deal with the searing heat.
The second ODI sees both sides face off against each other in challenging weather conditions, with India looking to wrap up the series and Afghanistan hoping to push the home side to a decider.