After having defeated Afghanistan in the first ODI by a sound margin of seven wickets, India welcome their visitors to the second match of the series at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, June 17. The series is now 1-0 in favour of India, and if the Afghans slip in this game, they could end up with nothing in their hands. India know that the challenges are not over yet, and they must start from scratch in this capital city of Awadh once again.
The Men in Blue have a lot of exciting players in their ranks, including Washington Sundar, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal. These, along with newly-capped Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey, will ensure that they do not fall by the wayside against the Afghans. For the visitors, a lot depends on how well they adapt to these conditions. If they fail to get going in the first power play, they may have to adjust their batting style in the middle overs. The likes of Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi will have to play responsible knocks.
Wicketkeeper-opener Rahmatullah Gurbaz starred with a century for the Afghans in Dharamsala, and a lot will be expected of him. His opening partner, Ibrahim Zadran, is yet to get going. If these two players combine to form a partnership, they can drive the Indian bowling unit against the wall. The Afghan bowlers did not do too badly in the first ODI, with Zia Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan picking up a wicket apiece. They will aim to stick to their lines and lengths more often without conceding too many looseners, especially at the death.
Predicted Teams
IND: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh.
AFG: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Sediqullah Atal, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad.
Key Players
Shreyas Iyer (IND): Shreyas Iyer was recently named the captain of the Indian T20I team. He is known for his swashbuckling shots in the middle order, as well as the sense of stability he brings by rotating the strike. Iyer is a good player of spin, who routinely uses his feet to get to the pitch of the ball. While he was earlier criticised for not playing pace well, he has improved tremendously recently. Nowadays, he is seen comfortably playing the pull and hook strokes against the quickest bowlers in the world.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG): Wicketkeeper-opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has already shown why he is one of the most highly-rated Afghan cricketers of his generation. While his century went in vain in the first ODI, Gurbaz will aim to continue in the same vein of form in Lucknow. Gurbaz is known to take on opposition bowlers in the power play, which means that he has also thrown his wicket away sometimes. India need to be careful about the lines and lengths they bowl to this former Kolkata Knight Riders player.
Match Prediction
India, with their lead in the series, are the driving force in this game. We expect them to win. The Afghans do not have enough experience in their ranks to stop the Indian batting unit from plundering runs against them. However, India’s bowling unit looks inexperienced, and the Afghan batters can capitalise on this. While Gurbaz is already in good form, the likes of Zadran, Nabi, Shahidi and even Rashid Khan can contribute to their team’s cause. India are heavy at the top of their batting order.
