11 January,2024 09:38 PM IST | Mohali | mid-day online correspondent
Rohit Sharma (Pic: AFP)
IND vs AFG 1st T20I live updates: The spotlight will be only on the returning Rohit Sharma as his long-time colleague Virat Kohli pulled out of the opening T20I against Afghanistan due to "personal reasons" ahead of the first ever white-ball series between the two teams, beginning here on Thursday.
Kohli, though, will be available for the second and third T20 International.
India head coach Rahul Dravid attributed Kohli's pull-out to "family reasons" before he addressed media.
Both the stalwarts are returning to the shortest format after 14 months and will be keenly observed in the three-match rubber, which will be India's last before the T20 World Cup in June, giving the team more clarity on where it stands ahead of the ICC event in Americas.
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However, the final 15 will be picked on the basis of core group's performance in the IPL, which precedes the World Cup.
India would be expected to win comfortably in their own conditions but Afghanistan will give them a run for their money.
Having recently exceeded all expectations in their giant-killing run during the ODI World Cup in India, Afghanistan will be high on confidence in a format that suits them the most.
Also Read: 'Test cricket is the ultimate challenge for me': Rohit
Barring Rashid's injury-forced absence, the team is at full strength after the likes Mujeeb Zadran, Naveen-Ul Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi sorted their contractual issues with the country's cricket board.
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
Aghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson/ Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran (C), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Qais Ahmad, Noor Ahmad/Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Wicket-keeper: Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Batsmen: Rohit Sharma, Rinku Singh, Hazratullah Zazai, Yashasvi Jaiswal
All-rounders: Mohammad Nabi, Axar Patel, Azmatullah Omarzai
Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first against Afghanistan in the first of three Twenty20 internationals on Thursday.
IND: 83/2 (10 Overs)
Ten overs are over and India now need 73 runs in 60 balls. Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube in the middle now for the Men in Blue.
IND: 5/1 (1 Over)
Rohit Sharma dismissed for a duck. India lose their first wicket as Afghanistan get the dream start. Tilak Varma comes in at number 3.
AFG: 158/5 (20 Overs)
Afghanistan post runs on the board after 20 overs. Najibullah in the end got some runs from the death overs, he scored 19 off 11 balls.
AFG: 130/5 (18 Overs)
Afghanistan go five down as Mohammad Nabi departs after scoring 42 off 27 balls. Mukesh Kumar gets two wickets from that over.
AFG: 105/3 (15 Overs)
Afghanistan bounce back with Mohammad Nabi and Omarzai as they lauch the counter attack on Ravi Bishnoi. 16 runs from the fifteenth over of India.
AFG: 65/3 (11 Overs)
Mohammad Nabi in the middle now. Omarzai and Nabi have to score some runs if they want to challenge this Indian side.
AFG: 21/0 (4 Overs)
Washington Sundar comes into the attack for India now inside the powerplay with two overs left. Afghanistan openers will look to attack now.
AFG: 12/0 (2.4 Overs)
Afghanistan off to a steady start with Ibrahim Zadran and Gurbaz in the middle. Shivam Dube drops a sitter of the opener to give him a lifeline.
