Afghanistan opts to bat against India in 3rd ODI as hosts eye clean sweep
Chennai, June 20
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and has opted to bat against India in the 3rd ODI on Saturday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
With victories over Afghanistan in Dharamsala and Lucknow, India have already wrapped up the ODI series. India will aim to clean sweep the visitors, while Afghanistan will be desperate to avoid a whitewash.
"We want to bat first today. It's always hot in India in this month. Wicket also looks good. It's dry and hard. Hopefully, we have a good start in the batting. In the last two games, we missed some areas and didn't play the way we have played in the past. Hopefully, we recover today and have good partnerships and bowl in the right areas. Four changes. Nabi is back, Azmat is playing," Shahidi said during the toss.
"Looks like a very good wicket. Would've batted first as well. Was pretty hot in the last match, and it's going to be no different here. It's about being consistent in the areas we're looking at. We'll be chasing in this match, and chasing big scores consistently and comfortably is one area where we haven't quite ticked the box yet. That's what we'll be looking at today. Three changes. Prasidh, Harsh and Nitish Reddy are back," Indian skipper Shubman Gill said.
Teams: Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav.
— ANI
Reader Comments
So many changes! Prasidh, Harsh, and Nitish Reddy getting a chance is good for depth. But I hope the middle order doesn't collapse like last time. Gill said they want to work on chasing - finally! That's been our achilles heel for so long. Hope they take this seriously even though series is won.
As an Aussie living in India, it's interesting to see the Indian team experimenting with so many players. Afghanistan has quality spinners but their batting has been disappointing. Rashid Khan is due for a big performance. Chennai pitch usually assists spinners - could be a close game if Afghanistan posts 280+.
Clean sweep is on the cards! Afghanistan look clueless against Indian spinners. But I have to say, their fielding has improved a lot compared to before. Still, India's bench strength is just insane - we're making 4-5 changes and still have a strong XI. That's the luxury of having so much talent in domestic cricket. 👌
I really feel for Afghanistan. They've come so far in world cricket but their batting just can't handle pressure. Shahidi needs to lead from the front today. With Nabi back, maybe they can put on a show. India should be careful - complacency can creep in. Remember how Afghanistan almost beat us in the 2019 World Cup?
Nice to see Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar getting games. These youngsters need exposure. But I'm a bit concerned about the batting order - Shreyas at 4 and Kishan at 5? Should be the other way round
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