Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 17 (ANI): India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy missed the second ODI match against Afghanistan being played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow due to a sore left thigh.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared the update post on X and said, “Nitish Kumar Reddy was unavailable for selection for the second ODI due to a sore left thigh. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress.”
Young seamer Prince Yadav was handed his ODI debut cap ahead of the match as Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav returned to the playing XI, replacing Harsh Dubey and Prasidh Krishna.
India were asked to bat first and on the back of big centuries from Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, the hosts posted 402 runs on the board.
Men in Blue started with Yashasvi Jaiswal and veteran Rohit Sharma. Mohammad Saleem Safi got the first breakthrough of the match when he dismissed Jaiswal in his first over.
Gill joined Sharma at the crease after that, and the former skipper shifted his batting gears. He hit six fours and a couple of sixes before missing out on a well-deserved half-century as Rashid Khan bowled him at the score of 48 runs.
Kishan came to bat at number four and kept the scorecard moving with his big shots.
Gill reached his fifty with a six off Nangeyalia Kharote in the 17th over. He went on to a couple of fours in the next over of Safi.
Bilal Sami came to bowl the 33rd over, and with a boundary on the first delivery, Gill completed his 9th ODI century. This was his first ODI hundred after taking charge as ODI skipper.
Kishan hit the hat-trick of boundaries in the last three deliveries of Sami’s over to complete his century as well. It was his second ODI century. After completing his fifty in 52 balls, he scored the next 53 runs off just 19 balls.
The duo kept finding boundaries at regular intervals and added 224 runs for the third wicket before Kharote broke the partnership in the 37th over. Kishan made 125 off just 79 balls with the help of 14 fours and seven sixes.
Shreyas Iyer came next and added 40 runs for the fourth wicket with the captain Gill.
Gill crossed the 150-run mark with a single off Allah Ghazanfar in the 42nd over. Gill lost his wicket while trying for a big shot against Kharote in the 43rd over. He made 154 off 110 balls with the help of 22 fours and a couple of sixes.
KL Rahul couldn’t stay long and went back after a golden duck.
Iyer contributed with 26 off 24 balls with the help of a six and a four, but gave his wicket to Kharote.
Washington Sundar helped India cross the 400-run mark with his valuable 19 runs with the tailenders as India lost all of their wickets in 49.5 overs and set a 403-run target for the visitors.
Rashid Khan took three, whereas Kharote picked four wickets for Afghanistan. Ghazanfar and Safi also shared one wicket each among them.
The hosts are leading the three-match ODI series 1-0 and will be looking to seal the series with a victory here in Lucknow. Afghanistan, on the other hand, desperately need a victory to remain alive in the series. (ANI)
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