The stage is set for a thrilling encounter as Rohit Sharma-led India and Afghanistan gear up for the first T20I of the three-match series in Mohali's PCA IS Bindra stadium on January 11, Thursday. India's batting maestro Virat Kohli is set to miss the opening T20I against Afghanistan due to personal reasons, as confirmed by head coach Rahul Dravid in the pre-match press conference. Dravid announced at the beginning of a media session that Kohli would be absent from the series opener citing personal reasons. Dravid confirmed that Kohli will be back for the remaining two games of the three-match series. He also mentioned, that Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma will open the batting for India in Thursday's series opener Both Rohit and Kohli are making their comeback to the T20 format after a 14-month hiatus. Kohli's most recent appearance in T20 cricket was in November 2022, with his last match being India's semifinal defeat to England at the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Meanwhile, right ahead of the series opener, let's take you through India vs Afghanistan's head-to-head record in T20Is:
Matches: 5
India won: 4
Afghanistan won: 0
No result/Draw/Tie: 1
India vs Afghanistan T20I results
1 May, 2010: India beat Afghanistan by seven wickets
19 September, 2012: India beat Afghanistan by 23 runs
3 November, 2021: India beat Afghanistan by 66 runs
8 September, 2022: India beat Afghanistan by 101 runs
7 October, 2023: Match abandoned due to rain
India and Afghanistan last faced each other in the T20 format during the Asia Cup in Dubai in 2022.
India vs Afghanistan - HIGHEST AND LOWEST SCORES IN T20Is
IND (highest score): 212/2 in Dubai, 2022
IND (lowest score): 159/5 in Colombo, 2012
AFG (highest score): 144/7 in Abu Dhabi, 2021
AFG (lowest score): 111/8 in Dubai, 2022
IND (highest individual score): Virat Kohli 122* in Dubai, 2022
IND (best bowling): Bhuvneshwar Kumar 5/4 in Dubai, 2022
AFG (highest individual score): Ibrahim Zadran 64* in Dubai, 2022
AFG (best bowling): Shapoor Zadran 2/33 in Colombo, 2012
India's squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson(w), Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi.
Afghanistan's squad: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Qais Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Karim Janat, Ikram Alikhil, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib.
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