Incessant rain delayed the proceedings of the first ODI between India and Afghanistan at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala on June 13. However, after a long delay, the toss, which was scheduled to take place at 1:00 pm, will now be held on 5:15 while the match will get underway at 5:45 pm. Notably, now it will be 25-overs per side game, courtesy to rain delay.
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IND vs AFG first ODI Toss at 5:45 PM
There is no question that India heads into the upcoming fixture as the heavy favorites, but Afghanistan's side are no less. The underdogs proved exactly what they are capable of just days ago when their 'A' team defied the odds to secure a stunning victory over India A in Sri Lanka, a feat that will surely inspire the senior team to believe they can pull off a similar giant-killing performance.
The Men in Blue will also have a task cut out with absence of several marquee players. Batting juggernaut Virat Kohli is currently sidelined after sustaining a hamstring injury during last month's IPL final, while dynamic all-rounder Hardik Pandya is also absent from the squad. To help plug the gap left by Kohli, young sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal has been called up, creating plenty of anticipation around whether the explosive opener will make the starting lineup for today’s clash.
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Jaiswal won't be the only one pushing for selection, as explosive wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is also in the mix, setting up an intense battle between the two youngsters for a spot in the final XI.
However, as the match got underway suspense over Jaiswal and Kishan ended. While Jaiswal couldn't find a spot in India's playing XI, Kishan walked into the fold. Not just this, Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar made India debut in the series opener.
After a brief delay, finally the toss took place and Shubman Gill won the flip of the coin and elected to bowl first against Afghanistan.
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
Afghanistan (Playing XI):
Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi
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