India won the toss and opted to bowl first against Afghanistan in the rain-curtailed first ODI being played at Dharamsala's HPCA stadium on June 13.
The now 25-overs per side game will see Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar making India debut. Meanwhile, Prince Yadav couldn't find a place in India's playing XI and so did Kuldeep Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
What did the captains say at the toss?
India skipper Shubman Gill, after winning the toss, said:
"We're going to bowl first. It's a little overcast, so I think it will help the bowlers. There could also be some rain around the corner, so we want to bowl first. As for the surface, it looks very good. I think it's going to be a good wicket to bat on. In the initial overs, there might be some seam movement, but after the breeze dies down, I think it's going to be a really good wicket. Honestly, for this series, it's all about trying different combinations and seeing what really works for us. We don't play that many ODIs anymore - leading up to the World Cup, we are only playing around 15 to 20 ODIs - so it's all about trying different combinations and seeing what our strengths are. Now that it's a 25-overs-a-side game, it is definitely a completely different ball game. But our team is unchanged. We are going with two debutants: Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey will make their debuts today. Jaiswal, Prince and Kuldeep miss out."
Meanwhile, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, after losing the toss, said:
"If we had won the toss, we also wanted to bowl first, but again, toss is not in our hands and we need to start well right from the start of the game. We did very well in recent past, but at the same time, it's our first time we are playing India in their own condition. So it's been a tough battle for both the sides and we are excited and ready for that challenge and hopefully we do well here. We have three seamers and three spinners combination. So two seamers, one all-rounder and three spinners."
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
Pitch report
"The pitch was covered for more than 12 hours, but there is no moisture or dampness on the surface, it's just the ground temperature and it looks like a pretty good surface. It's been a high-scoring venue in the IPL. The ball travels because it's high altitude and this is still gonna be a high-scoring venue. 25 overs a side, which means that it's a truncated game. It's gonna be a big one. Maybe 200, 220 is on the cards, is what I feel. As I said, it's a well-rolled surface, even sprinkling of grass in the good length and I would say that any side which is going to win the toss is gonna look to chase," Murali Kartik analysed the pitch.