India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I Match Preview, Team News, Head-to-Head, Possible Lineups, and Dream XI Prediction

The Indin Cricket Team will come into the second match after taking a 1-0 lead in the India vs Afghanistan 3-match T20I series. The Men in Blues beat the Afghans comfortably in the first T20I in Mohali courtesy of a fine 60 from 40 balls by Shivam Dube.

Afghanistan will have to win the 2nd T20I match at the Holkar Stadium if they want to head to the last match with something to play for. Afghanistan started well while defending their total but Shivam Dube dominated the bowlers and punished them whenever he faced some poor deliveries.

Rashid Khan is a huge miss for the visitors but putting up a good performance in the second match will be helpful ahead of the upcoming T20I World Cup.

Also Read: India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: This is why Yashashvi Jaiswal missed the 1st T20I in Mohali

Match Details

• Date: 14th January, 2024

• Venue: Holkar Stadium, Indore, Madhya Pradesh

• Time: 7:00 pm (IST)

• Live Streaming: JioCinema; Live Telecast: Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD TV channels

India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I: Head-to-Head

• Matches played: 6

• India won: 5

• Afghanistan won: 0

• Tied: 0

• No Result: 1

Pitch & Weather Report

This Holkar Stadium in Indore is a fully flat track surface. It has been a batting paradise in the past and it is likely to continue in this game as well. Batsmen can trust the wickets and the pitch will help to score runs here. Bowlers will face lots of challenges to take wickets on this pitch. The first innings' average score is 200+ out of 3 games.

It is likely to be a hazy evening in Indore on Sunday, with the maximum temperature expected to be 22°C during the start of the match and 17°C during the closing stages. There is no threat of rain on the matchday.

India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I: Team News

India

As per reports, Virat Kohli is all set to make a return for India in the second T20I clash against Afghanistan. He missed the first clash due to personal reasons. Kohli last featured in T20Is for India back in November 2022 against England at the ICC T20 World Cup clash in Adelaide. It will be exciting to see whom India will bench if Kohli makes a return in the 2nd T20I match.

Rahul Dravid had all but confirmed that Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal would be India's first-choice opening pair for the series. However, Jaiswal pulled up sore on the day of the game and missed out on the first match with Shubman Gill taking his place in the XI instead. There are no reports about him making a return to the squad yet.

Shubman Gill hasn't delivered recently in T20Is, the same goes with Tilak Varma too. So, If Virat Kohi and Jaiswal make a return, then they could replace Gill and Tilak in the second T20I match.

Shivam Dube batted brilliantly in the first match and was picked as the Player of the Match for his match-winning performance. Rinku Singh is expected to continue alongside Dube and they will play the role of finishers.

Arshdeep bowled well in the first match but was unlucky that he didn't get a wicket. He has claimed 59 T20I scalps so far in 49 matches and will be the main bowler to lead India in the second match as well. Although Afghanistan have some quality players, team India are relatively a strong side, and are expected to wrap up the series in Madhya Pradesh.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan were convincingly beaten by India in the first match. Their openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Ibrahim need to give a good start, allowing the platform for the likes of Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Mohammad Nabi.

Gurbaz and Zadran were Afghanistan's two most successful batters in T20I since the start of 2023, with 311 and 260 runs respectively.

Without Rashid Khan, the responsibility is on Mujeeb Ur Rahman to lead the attack but the pacers need to step up with early wickets to support the spinners.

Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were the key performers for Afghanistan in the last match, but they will have to showcase a more collective effort to put up a challenge for the hosts in the second match.

Squads for the T20I series

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ikram Alikhil (wicket-keeper), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib

India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I: Probable Playing XIs

India's Probable Playing XI – Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Kishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Washington Sundar

Afghanistan's Probable Playing XI – Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Naveen-Ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gulbadin Naib, Rahmat Shah, Karim Janat

India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I: Dream XI Team Prediction