India Vs Afghanistan Highlights, 1st ODI: Gill’s Unbeaten Knock Seals Seven-Wicket Win For IND In Rain-Shortened Clash

Greetings and welcome back to another live blog. Today, all eyes are onthe beautiful stadium of Dharamsala as India take on Afghanistan in their 1st match of the series.

Match: India Vs Afghanistan

Format: One-Day International

Venue: HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala

Start Time: 1:30 PM IST

The first ODI between Afghanistan and Indian will be televised live on the Star Sports Network. It will also be streamed live on the Jio Hotstar app and website in India. The live action will begin at 1:30 PM IST.

The toss between India and Afghanistan is delayed due to rain. It's raining steadily in Dharamsala currently, indicating that we're in for a long day here.

Additional covers have been brought sometime back to prevent more parts of the ground as the groundsmen expecting more rain to follow. However, it's a fast drying ground, where match could start shortly once the rain stops, so keep our fingers crossed.

Steady rain has turned into a drizzle, but the covers are still on and not much movement among the groundstaff. However, the good news is that there are no signs of big puddles on the outfield.

The drizzle in Dharamsala in consistent and heavy which is why the covers are still on. We have started losing over now, while the cut-off time for a 20-over match is 6:32 PM IST.

1st ODI - Dharamsala (13 June)

2nd ODI - Lucknow (17 June)

3rd ODI - Chennai (20 June)

It's still raining in Dharamsala! It's not heavy but is persistent enough to keep everyone inside. The cut-off time for a 20-over match is 6:32 PM IST and for that to take place, we need the rain to stop completely in the next one hour or so.

The rain is quite minimal now and the groundsmen have started the drying process. There is a good amount of standing water on the covers which needs to be removed first followed by drying the outfield, which was unprotected and has soaked in lots of rainwater. While, the umpires are out taking a stroll on the field and assessing the current conditions.

Good news! The sun is out and the full preparations are going in full swing to conduct a 25-over per side match. The toss will take place at 5:25 PM IST.

India have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Afghanistan. The match is reduced to 25-over-a-side due to delayed start. The match to begin at 5:30 PM IST.

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi

India: Shubman Gill(c), Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

While it's officially an ODI match but the circumstances have made it more of a T20I affair and Rahmanullah Gurbaz is batting in the similar away, he would have done if it was a T20 match. Gurbaz smacks Arshdeep Singh for a four and a six to set the tone for Afghanistan in the first over.

AFG 11/0 (1)

Rahmanullah Gurbaz ends the fourth over with a six but India is currently on top with pacers - Gurnoor Brar and Arshdeep Singh leading the charge. Both bowlers picked up a wicket each to dismiss two Afghan batters with the first three overs. Afghanistan need a partnership from here on to take them out from this precarious position towards a good first innings score.

But just as we're saying another Aghan batter bites the dust and this time it's Rahmat Shah was departs while playing a short-arm but but could only manage to find the debutant Harsh Dubey at the mid-wicket position.

AFG 27/3 (5)

Debutant Harsh Dubey bowls a half-tracker and Gurbaz was quick to go on the backfoot and slam it for a six over the deep mid-wicket fence to get to his 25-ball half-century. He smacked five fours and four sixes during the course of his fifty and played an instrumental role in getting Afghanistan out of a precarious position.

AFG 79/3 (10)

That's a hundred for Rahmanullah Gurbaz in just 48 balls. Gurbaz got a lucky break as India didn't review when a ball smashed his pads at the start of his innings and the Afghan opener made the home team pay with some excellent strokeplay to all parts of the ground. He hit 8 fours and same number of sixes during his ton.

AFG 140/3 (15)

Nitish Reddy ends Nabi's struggles as he dismisses him at 9 runs off 13 balls. Though he smashed a six off the second ball off the over but mistimes the next ball and Arshdeep Singh makes no mistake in taking a good catch at the long-off boundary. Afghanistan are six down and have four wickets in the bank with the same number of overs left.

AFG 176/6 (21)

Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi tries to clear the long-on boundary but finds the fielder and with it the Afghanistan innings come to an end. Debutant Gurnoor Brar picks up two wickets in the last over and ends the innings with an impressive bowling figures of 3/27. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the mainstay of the Afghanistan batting as he smashed the fastest hundred for Afghanistan in ODIs.

India openers - Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are they straight away got off to a positive start courtesy of some wayward bowling by Azmatullah Omarzai. Yet there is movement for the bowlers with the new ball and it won't be a straightforward chase as Rohit Sharma got hit on his hands off a short delivery by Omarzai.

IND 8/0 (1)

Afghanistan got a major opportunity of getting the first breakthrough as Shubman Gill skied a short-ball with Gurbaz running backwards to take a difficult catch but wasn't able to judge it perfectly at the end and missed it. Gill and Rohit are looking comfortable at the crease and these are dangerous signs for Afghanistan as both these batters can take the match away from them in no time. The visitors need to break the opening stand as soon as possible.

Just as we're saying this Afghanistan got a lucky breakthrough as a miscommunication between Rohit and Gill resulted in the wicket of the former. Rohit pushes it to the left of Rashid and sets off for a quick single. Gill, who was caught ball watching is stuck behind the bowler's followhthrough and can't get across him. He sends him back but is too late as Rohit is halfway down the pitch and eventually gets run-out.

IND 48/1 (6)

It’s been a blistering start at the HPCA Stadium! India is currently dominating the first ODI against Afghanistan. Chasing a target of 195, the Men in Blue have cruised to 109/1 in just 12 overs.

Shubman Gill has been in sensational touch, bringing up a dazzling half-century in no time. His aggressive intent at the crease has set the tone, perfectly complemented by Ishan Kishan at the other end.

With only 86 runs needed off 13 overs, India looks firmly in control to seal this one. Stay tuned for more updates as they close in on the victory!

Omarzai bangs it in short, but KL Rahul is ready for the challenge! There is a little width outside off, and Rahul makes full use of the pace, arches back beautifully and guides it over third man.

A cheeky stroke, a stylish finish, and the ball sails all the way for a maximum. Six runs added with pure timing.

Ghazanfar brings out his mystery spin. The wrong’un turns sharply back into the right-hander, cramping Shubman Gill for room as he looks to pull. Gill adjusts well, manages to get it away towards mid-wicket, and they sneak through for a single. Clever batting against some tricky bowling.

Omarzai goes full and offers a touch of width outside off, and Shubman Gill pounces! Down on one knee, he opens the bat face beautifully and slices the drive over backward point. The timing is spot on, the placement even better, the ball races away to the fence for a classy four.

Omarzai overpitches and KL Rahul makes him pay. A hint of width outside off is all Rahul needs as he leans into the drive and creams it through extra-cover. It’s a picture-perfect stroke, timed sweetly and placed into the gap, the ball races away to the boundary in a flash!

A full-length delivery from Omarzai disappears in a flash as Gill unleashes a powerful stroke over backward point for four before rotating the strike with a single. Rahul then takes charge of the finish, drilling one through extra cover for another boundary. A dot ball follows, but Rahul is not done yet, he finds the gap past mid-off and races away for four more. That seals it in style as India cruise to a seven-wicket victory!

That’s a wrap from this live blog. We’ll be back with more live action soon. Until then, goodbye.