Dharamshala, June 13 (IANS) The toss for the opening ODI between India and Afghanistan at the HPCA Stadium will be held at 5:15 pm after a nearly four‑hour rain delay, with the match set to begin at 5:45 pm as a 25‑overs‑a‑side contest.

The game being truncated due to heavy rain has meant that each team is likely to have five bowlers delivering a maximum of five overs each, while the batting powerplay will last five overs. Players were seen warming up as conditions improved, bringing relief to spectators after hours of uncertainty about the game being washed out due to rain.

The buildup to the match had been dominated by downpours, with Dharamsala witnessing rain over the past two days and again on the eve of the game. With the cut-off time for a 20-over game being 6:32 pm, the eventual start hinged on the drainage capacity of the ground, which has managed to drain out water thanks to an army of super soppers running across the ground, and the conditions brightening due to rain stopping.

Shubman Gill-led India are without Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, who have been ruled out due to hamstring and leg injuries, respectively. Former skipper and veteran opener Rohit Sharma, however, cleared his fitness test at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru and is set to open alongside Gill.

India bowling coach Morne Morkel had said in the pre-match press conference that the team management is prepared to experiment for the number three position in this series in Kohli’s absence, with KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ishan Kishan all in contention.

The conditions in Dharamshala have always been expected to aid fast bowlers with the new ball. But with rain keeping the pitch under covers for a long time, it makes the toss even more decisive, considering the moisture it will have. India enjoy a 3-0 record in ODI meetings against Afghanistan, while one game, played in the 2018 Asia Cup, ended in a tie.

–IANS

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