India will look to wrap up the three-match ODI series when they square off against Afghanistan in the second match at Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. India, having secured a convincing victory in the opening match, are riding high on confidence and would look to claim the series win. Afghanistan, on the other hand, are in a must-win situation to keep themselves alive in the series and level it.
They sank to a seven-wicket defeat in the first ODI following their failure both in the batting and bowling departments. This match is very much important for Afghanistan to win because a loss would hand the series to India. India are a well-balanced side, and for Afghanistan to make a resounding comeback, they will need a far more complete performance than they came out with in Dharamsala.
The hosts' batting lineup remains their biggest strength. Having the likes of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, India have all the attacking options. Moreover, at the top, veteran star Rohit Sharma and captain Shubman Gill will be crucial. In the first ODI, India's newcomers, fast bowler Gurnoor Brar and all-rounder Harsh Dubey, made a big impact with impressive performances. For Afghanistan in the first game, the standout performer was Rahmanullah Gurbaz, smashing an explosive century. He built huge dominance on the Indian bowlers, taking the side to a challenging total. However, Afghanistan's bowlers failed to restrict India from chasing the target.
Head-to-head
Matches - 5
IND won - 4
AFG won - 0
Drawn - 1
India possible XI: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Nitish Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna
Afghanistan possible XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, AM Ghazanfar, Fareed Malik, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi