A fresh face emerged when India gave Prince Yadav his first ODI jersey under Lucknow skies. The game began after Afghanistan chose to bowl following their toss win. This was the middle clash of a three-game contest at Ekana Stadium on Wednesday.

Each team swapped three players into their lineups, shifting gears for the heat after facing chilly drizzle back in Dharamsala. That first match ended early, won by India, who chased down the target in seven wickets under gray skies.

Prince Yadav stepped into the spotlight for the home team.

This quick bowler played for Lucknow Super Giants during the recent IPL rounds. He knows how it feels to bowl at Ekana Stadium. His first ODI match might just spark something sharp right away.

Back home, Yashasvi Jaiswal got another chance, and Kuldeep Yadav returned to the squad. Instead of Harsh Dubey, they looked elsewhere; Prasidh Krishna missed out, too, along with Nitish Kumar Reddy. Speaking before play began, skipper Shubman Gill mentioned Reddy could not be picked – a stiff left thigh kept him off the field.

Over in Afghanistan, batsman Darwish Rasooli stepped into the ODI side for the first time. Left-armer Nangeyalia Kharote came in, along with pace option Bilal Sami. Illness kept experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi on the sidelines. Training ground misfortune ruled out Azmatullah Omarzai. Ziaur Rahman, another quick, found himself left out of the match lineup.

“The wicket looks fresh, and it will be spinning in the first innings. In the last game, we played well, but we were missing in the partnership, and we lost our wickets. Hopefully the boys will learn from this,” Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said after winning the toss.
Down by one game, the tourists face pressure after losing the first match easily to India. A win now is their only path forward before the last ODI decides it all.

Heat in Lucknow might push close to 40°C, challenging players from both sides. Because of the sweltering conditions, match organizers added extra drink stops – set for 2:30, then again at 3:30, followed by another at 4:30 in local time – during the opening batting session.

Teams

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Darwish Rasooli, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammad Saleem, Bilal Sami.

India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (capt), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.