Cricket lovers gathered at the airport to get a glimpse of ‘Hitman’, both the teams are ready for a great match on the pitch of Ekana.
Lucknow, Read: The excitement of cricket is at its peak before the second ODI match to be played between India and Afghanistan on June 17 at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium. As soon as Team India reached Lucknow on Monday, a huge crowd of cricket lovers gathered at the airport.
There was a lot of excitement among the fans to get a glimpse of captain Rohit Sharma. There was a competition to capture pictures and videos of their favorite players. From the airport, Team India directly reached the hotel in Gomtinagar, where the players were welcomed in traditional Indian style.
Afghanistan has home advantage in Ikana
The Afghan team also reached the city in the evening. On paper, the Indian team appears to be a strong contender in this match, but the conditions in Lucknow can play an important role in Afghanistan’s favor.
The Afghan team is ahead of India in terms of experience of playing at Ekana Stadium. Afghanistan has played four ODI matches here so far, whereas the Indian team has played only two ODI matches on this ground.
In such a situation, better understanding of the pitch, outfield and local conditions can give an additional edge to the Afghan players. Actually, in the year 2019, it was not possible to organize international matches in Afghanistan due to security reasons.
BCCI then gave permission to Afghanistan Cricket Board to use Ekana Stadium as its home ground.
Ekana Stadium lucky for both the teams
For about five months, the Afghan team practiced by camping in Lucknow and during this time played one Test, three ODIs and three T20 Internationals against the West Indies. Apart from this, players like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz have also played on this ground during IPL.
The memories related to Ikana of both the teams are also full of victories. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, the Indian team had registered a spectacular victory by defeating England by 100 runs, while Afghanistan demonstrated its potential by defeating Netherlands by seven wickets. Now both the teams will face each other once again in Ekana with the same happy memories.
According to the UPCA schedule, the Afghanistan team will practice from 1 pm on Tuesday, while the Indian team will sweat in the nets from 4 pm to 7 pm. A day before the match, all eyes will be on the preparations of both the teams.
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