IND vs AFG 2nd ODI: Shahidi wins toss, elects to bowl first against Team India

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In the second ODI match against Team India, Afghanistan`s skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow.

After winning the toss, Afghanistan`s skipper Shahidi said, “We want to bowl first. The reason is the wicket looks fresh and I think it will be spinning in the first innings. There is a chance of that, so that`s why we want to bowl. In the last game we played really well, but we were missing in the partnerships. We just had one good partnership, but after that we threw away our wickets easily. So that`s the reason we didn`t finish on the winning side. So hopefully the boys learn from it and come back stronger in today`s game. (On the spirit in the Afghanistan camp) I think our boys have a lot of passion for cricket. And it`s the ability and the skills of the players that we are doing well and hopefully that we improve day by day. We have three changes. Nabi is sick, he`s not feeling well and Azmat got injured in the practice session. And also Zia Sharifi is not playing. So we have three guys – Bilal (Sami), and Darwish Rasooli is debuting today”.

The visitors have made three changes in their playing XI. Darwish Rasooli will make his ODI debut for Afghanistan and will break into the team by replacing Mohammad Nabi. Nangeyalia Kharote will replace Azmatullah Omarzai, and Bilal Sami will come in place of Ziaur Rahman.

On the other hand, the “Men in Blue” will enter the clash with three changes, where Yashasvi Jaiswal will come in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Harsh Dubey will make way for Kuldeep Yadav. Prince Yadav is set to make his debut in the 50-over format for Team India. He will replace Prasidh Krishna in the playing XI.

Reddy was unavailable for selection for the second ODI due to a sore left thigh.

Team India`s captain Shubman Gill said, “Honestly, we would have bowled first as well, because of our combination. We were forced to play with only five bowlers in this match. So, just because of that, we would have bowled first as well. It`s all about just being in difficult situations and getting that experience. If you`re chasing, have the habit of chasing the big scores, and if you`re defending, how can we defend those low totals, and how clinical can we be with our bowling. We have got three changes. Prince makes his debut. Nitish was unavailable for selection in this match. He had some issues with his quad. So we have got Kuldeep and Jaiswal in”.

IND vs AFG 2nd ODI: Confirmed Playing XIs

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Darwish Rasooli, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammad Saleem, Bilal Sami.

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