The first match of the 3-match ODI series between India and Afghanistan scheduled at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala was severely impacted by weather. Below is a complete breakdown of what transpired, the playing XIs that took the field, the pitch behavior, and the match results.
🏟️ Pitch Report & Conditions
The HPCA Stadium pitch in Dharamshala lived up to its reputation. Known for assisting fast bowlers during the early stages, the cool mountain air, high altitude, and heavy overnight rain provided extreme lateral movement, seam, and bounce for the pacers. Winning the toss was critical, and India took full advantage of the damp, bowling-friendly conditions by electing to bowl first after a rain-delayed toss.
📋 Official Playing XIs
| Team | India Playing XI 🇮🇳 | Afghanistan Playing XI 🇦🇫 |
| Openers | Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c) | Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran |
| Middle Order | Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk) | Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) |
| All-Rounders | Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar | Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai |
| Bowlers | Harsh Dubey, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar | Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem, Allah Ghazanfar, Ziaur Rahman |
🏆 Match Review & Result
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Toss: India won the toss and elected to bowl first.
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Afghanistan 1st Innings: 194 all out in 24.5 overs.
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Top Scorer: Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a sensational lone-wolf counter-attacking knock of 102 runs off 51 balls (8 fours, 8 sixes).
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India Bowling: Gurnoor Brar (3/27) and Harsh Dubey (3/47) dismantled the rest of the lineup.
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India 2nd Innings: 195/3 in 22.5 overs.
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Top Scorer: Shubman Gill anchored the chase perfectly with an unbeaten 84 runs off 66 balls.
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Result: India won by 7 wickets (with 13 balls remaining in the rain-shortened match scenario) to take a 1-0 lead in the series.