KL Rahul (left) and Shubman Gill (right) saw India over the line in the first ODI in New Chandigarh. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

For Afghanistan, the Ekana Cricket Stadium is a bittersweet venue.

The ground has been one of its homes away from home, and of 16 international fixtures the arena has hosted in its short history, Afghanistan has featured in eight, three more than India.

But results haven’t been commensurate, with the country losing all three ODIs, all three T20Is and the one-off Test to the West Indies in an all-format series in November 2019.

The lone victory came in the 2023 World Cup over the Netherlands, and it is this memory Afghanistan will hold on to when it meets India in the second ODI on Wednesday.

The Afghans are capable white-ball players, and this reflected yet again in the competitiveness it displayed in the first outing of the series in Dharamshala.

In a rain-curtailed 25-over encounter, Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed a 51-ball 102 as the ‘visitors’ set a 195-run target. Shubman Gill & Co. may have chased it down for the loss of just three wickets, but it was far from a stroll in the park.

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However, for Afghanistan to notch up its first-ever win over India, it needs more than just Gurbaz. Seven of its batters were dismissed for single-digit scores, something that captain Hashmatullah Shahidi pinned on “rushed” shot-making owing to the shortened nature of the game.

For India, pacer Gurnoor Brar and all-rounder Harsh Dubey are coming off impressive debut performances (three wickets each). Skipper Gill (84 n.o. from 66 balls) and K.L. Rahul (39 n.o. from 19) would love to extend their purple patch that has stretched across formats.

Rohit Sharma, though, is in search of better returns following a middling IPL. Shreyas Iyer, recently crowned India’s new T20I captain, will be looking for some international runs too, having scored 8, 3 and 12 in his previous three ODI innings.

It remains to be seen if India rings in the changes after just one contest and gives the Yadavs – Prince and Kuldeep – an opportunity.

Speedster Prince excelled for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL even as his team finished rock bottom. Kuldeep is from neighbouring Kanpur. But does it count at a place where home-away boundaries are fluid?

Heat is expected to be a factor, with day-time temperatures set to touch 40 degrees. Shahidi, though, opined that international cricketers shouldn’t use weather as an excuse.

However, the fact is that Ekana has never organised an international fixture in the April-September window. It will be baptism by fire!

Published on Jun 16, 2026