New Delhi: After the success on the Zimbabwe tour, the Indian cricket team is ready to hoist its flag once again in the T20 format. The first match of the three-match T20 series between India and Afghanistan has started at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. At the beginning of the match, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and decided to bowl first. Although this match is being played in India, the series is officially being hosted by Afghanistan Cricket Board. Afghanistan has been using India and UAE as their home grounds due to the security situation in their country and limitations in organizing international matches.
India won the toss and chose bowling
The pitch of Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi is considered favorable for batsmen. Even today, there is good bounce on the pitch, which will help the batsmen to play shots.
Small boundaries can pose a challenge for the bowlers and a high-scoring contest is expected. Keeping this in view, after winning the toss, Captain Iyer decided to bowl first, so that it would be easier to chase runs later.
Changes in the Indian team
This is the fourth T20 International series for Shreyas Iyer as captain. Earlier, after losing the series against Ireland and England, they made a comeback by defeating Zimbabwe. Just before the start of the series, some changes were seen in the Indian camp. Yash Thakur has been included in the team after fast bowler Harshit Rana was out due to injury. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan suffered a back strain during the practice session. If Ishan is not fully fit, then young sensations Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Sanju Samson may get a chance in the playing eleven.
Main squads of both countries
Shreyas Iyer is commanding India for this match, while the team includes Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dubey, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Varun Chakraborty and Ravi Bishnoi. On the other hand, the Afghanistan team captained by Ibrahim Zadran has star players like Darwish Rasooli, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Umzai, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Nangelia Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqui, Naveenul Haq, Mujibur Rahman and Noor Ahmed.