IND vs AFG 2026: 2nd ODI Match Preview

After an enthralling start to the One-Day International series, the action will move to Lucknow for the second ODI between India (IND) and Afghanistan (AFG) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, June 17. The Shubman Gill-led side has a chance to seal the series, while the Afghans can keep the series alive with a win in this all-important fixture.

The Indians started the series with a convincing win as they contained the Afghans to a slightly below par total in the first encounter played in Dharamshala. The inexperienced bowling attack with two debutants – Gurnoor Brar (3-27) and Harsh Dubey (3-47) – all impressed in their maiden outings as the Men in Blue chased down the 195-run target with seven wickets to spare as skipper Gill (84* off 66) led the charge.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, had only one positive from the opening encounter where Rahmanullah Gurbaz seemed to be batting in a different zone altogether. Gurbaz’s century kept the Afghans in the hunt, but beyond his dismissal, there was very little to show from their batting order, while the bowlers could not extract much help from the flat track in the second innings.

IND vs AFG: Match Details

Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow: Pitch Report

Established in 2017, the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow has been host to nine 50-over contests thus far. While it may seem like the home ground to the Indian team, it is noteworthy to mention that Afghanistan have played the most number of matches here (four). It means that both teams will have advantages of their own while playing here. Anything above 280 in the first innings can be considered a defendable total on the wickets at this venue.

IND vs AFG: Head-to-Head ODI Record

IND vs AFG: Probable Playing XIs

India

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

Afghanistan

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediq Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmat Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Ziaur Rahman, Mohammad Saleem