Toss India opt to bat vs Afghanistan
With the series already in the bag, India decided to challenge themselves by batting first in Bengaluru, a venue known for favoring chasing sides in the night. India made three changes to their side, giving opportunities to Sanju Samson and Avesh Khan and bringing in the more attacking spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, while going all-rounder light. Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, and Arshdeep Singh were the ones who sat out.
Afghanistan, still looking for a win over India in international cricket, would have chased had they won the toss. They made four changes, replacing Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad, and Mujeeb ur Rahman. Mohammad Saleem and Fareed Ahmad replaced the fast bowlers, left-arm wristspinner Qais Ahmad took on the spinner’s role, and Sharafuddin Ashraf was the extra all-rounder.
The stage was set for Virat Kohli’s IPL home ground to watch their favorite batter continue with the newfound intent he had displayed in Indore upon his comeback to the T20I side. Rohit Sharma, the captain, has been full of intent himself but is still looking for his first run in the series.
India 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran (capt.), 3 Gulbadin Naib, 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Sharafuddin Ashraf, 9 Fareed Ahmad, 10 Qais Ahmad, 11 Mohammad Saleem
