The second match of the ODI series between India and Afghanistan is being played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Afghanistan won the toss in this match and decided to bat first.

Guest Afghanistan will enter this match with the intention of leveling the series, while the Indian team will try to win the match and win the series. In this match, special attention will be kept on players like Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, who would like to regain their rhythm.

Afghanistan’s special relationship with Akana

Afghanistan has played the role of home ground for the cricket team for a long time. A total of 16 international matches have been played on this ground so far, in which Afghanistan has participated in eight matches. This number is three more than the matches played by India here. However, Afghanistan did not always get the desired results on this ground. In the series played against West Indies in November 2019, the team had to face defeat in all three ODIs and the only Test.

Afghanistan will enter the field with the help of good memories

Even though the 2019 series may have been disappointing, Afghanistan also has some good memories related to this ground. The team won the T20 International series against West Indies 2-1. Apart from this, in the 2023 ODI World Cup, it registered its only World Cup win by defeating Netherlands on the same ground. Afghanistan will try to take inspiration from these positive memories while entering the second ODI against India.

Gurbaz showed his strength in the first match

Afghanistan is considered a strong team in limited overs cricket and it also showed a glimpse of this in the first ODI. In the rain-affected 25-25 over match, Rahmanullah Gurbaz played an explosive inning of 102 runs in just 51 balls. On the basis of his brilliant batting, Afghanistan had set a target of 195 runs for India. Although the Indian team achieved this target under the captaincy of Shubman Gill by losing three wickets, but the match was not completely one-sided.

Afghanistan cannot rely only on Gurbaz

Gurbaz scored a century in the first ODI, but he did not get enough support from the other batsmen. Seven batsmen of the team could not even touch double figures and were out on single digits.
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi believes that since the match was of 25 overs, the batsmen tried to play big shots in a hurry, due to which the team had to suffer the loss. Afghanistan will need better collective batting in the second ODI.

India’s young players impressed

Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey, who made their debut in the first match for the Indian team, had performed brilliantly. Both the players kept the Afghan batting under pressure by taking three wickets each. Captain Shubhman Gill had led the team to victory by scoring unbeaten 84 runs. KL Rahul also played a brilliant inning of 39 not out in just 19 balls. Both the batsmen would like to continue their excellent form in the second match also.

Eyes will be on Rohit and Shreyas

Rohit Sharma’s IPL season was not as per expectations and now he would like to gain confidence by playing big innings in ODIs. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer, who was recently made the captain of the Indian T20 team, will also be under pressure to score runs. In his last three ODI innings only 8, 3 and 12 runs have come respectively. In such a situation, a big innings will be expected from him.

Will Team India make changes?

After the first ODI, the Indian team management may consider some changes. Fast bowler Prince Yadav and spinner Kuldeep Yadav are likely to get a chance in the playing eleven. Prince Yadav had impressed for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, while Kuldeep Yadav comes from the neighboring city of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. In such a situation, they can get the benefit of domestic circumstances.