India vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I: Rohit Sharma elects to field
India and Afghanistan kick start the three-match T20I series at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. While the Men in Blue will be firm favorites at home, Afghanistan are a formidable team in T20Is. This is the first time the two sides are meeting in a bilateral T20I series. Indian captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to field.
Here are the two teams
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, and Mukesh Kumar.
Here is the head-to-head record
India and Afghanistan have met in only five T20Is as of now. While India remain unbeaten with four wins, one of these games was washed out. The two sides have locked horns thrice in the ICC T20 World Cup and once in the Asia Cup. Last year, the India-Afghanistan final at the Asian Games (men's T20 competition) had no result.
Venue, pitch report, and streaming details
Mohali's PCA Stadium will host the opening clash. 168 is the first innings average score at the venue where five teams have won batting first in nine encounters. Pacers will get some aid from the pitch, while batters will also score runs once the ball gets older. Sports18 will telecast the match, while JioCinema will allow fans to live-stream it from 7:00 PM IST.
Kohli to miss 1st T20I
Indian cricket team head coach Rahul Dravid, on Wednesday, confirmed that Virat Kohli will miss the 1st T20I. The latter will join the squad ahead of the second match. Meanwhile, Rohit is back to lead India in the shortest format. India are without injured Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, as well as Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan.
Rohit closes in on 4,000 T20I runs
In the impending series, Rohit is set to become only the second player with 4,000 runs in men's T20Is. His compatriot Kohli remains the only player with this feat. Rohit, who is currently the most capped T20I player, could also feature in his 150th encounter. Interestingly, no other player than Rohit has played over 140 matches in the format as of now.
