Indore is all set to host the second T20I between India and Afghanistan on Sunday, January 14. The match starts at 7 pm IST. The Men in Blue won the first T20I by six wickets. The second T20I now becomes a must-win for the Afghans to keep the series alive.
The Afghan bowlers could not stop the Indian batsmen from chasing the 159 needed to win in 17.3 overs. Shivam Dube scored a career-best 60* to help India take the lead in the series. Shubman Gill (23), Tilak Varma (26), Jitesh Sharma (31) and Rinku Singh (16* out of 9) also played their role.
Afghanistan reached their final score thanks to Mohammad Nabi scoring 42 off 27 balls. Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (23) and captain Ibrahim Zadran (25) added a 50-run stand for first wickets but could not continue. Azmatullah Omarzai (29*) then stitched a 68-run stand with Nabi and thanks to that partnership the visitors were able to get a respectable score.
Rashid Khan was ruled out of the series ahead of the first T20I as he is yet to recover from the lower back surgery he recently underwent in the UK. Without him, the Afghan bowling line-up lacks the ability to create problems for the Indian batsmen.
Naveen-Ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are also part of Afghanistan’s T20I squad. The trio did not want to renew their central contracts prioritizing their interests over playing for Afghanistan. As a result, the board imposed a penalty and denied issuing them the NOC. However, the ACB later decided to also ease the restrictions on them.
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The IND vs AFG T20I series against India in January 2024 will serve as the perfect dress rehearsal for both the teams ahead of the T20 World Cup. This is India’s last T20I series heading into the evening. Afghanistan is ranked 10th in the ICC T20I rankings and has secured qualification for the T20 World Cup 2024 and Champions Trophy 2025. India tops the T20I rankings.
By 2023, Afghanistan will have improved its strategy by leaps and bounds. They defeated the UAE earlier in the year, followed by a T20I series win against Pakistan in the UAE. The ongoing T20I series against India is their first bilateral series against the Indian team.
India vs Afghanistan Weather Report Live Today & Indore Stadium Pitch Report – 2nd T20I, 2024
The first T20I India vs Afghanistan was played in extremely cold conditions in Mohali. The teams will move to western India, with Indore hosting the second T20I. Weather conditions will be much warmer at night. Weather conditions will be around 15 degrees with chances of dew, as evident with the night games in India. There is no chance of rain.
Talking about the venue, it is a conducive batting venue for T20I games in India. The average first innings score is 209 and the average second innings score is almost 170. Rohit Sharma’s highest T20I score of 118 was at this venue against Sri Lanka in 2017. With two batsmen in both sides, we can expect a high-scoring competition. . The captain who wins the toss must bat first on this wicket.
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