India handed their maiden ODI caps to Harsh Dubey and Gurnor Brar ahead of their clash against Afghanistan, with both youngsters marking a special milestone in their careers.Dubey received his cap from KL Rahul, while India captain Shibman Gill presented Gurnoor Brar with his first cap before the start of the game. After earlier concerns about the weather, conditions improved significantly and the skies cleared in time for the match. The contest will be reduced to 25 overs per side, which promises to be an exciting contest. Under the revised playing conditions, each team can use a maximum of five bowlers, with each bowler allowed to bowl up to five overs. The batting powerplay will continue for the first five overs of each innings.At the toss, Gill made the correct call and opted to field first, citing overcast conditions and the possibility of early support for the seamers.“We’ll bowl first. It’s a bit cloudy, so the bowlers might get some help. It looks like a good surface, a good wicket to bat on, maybe something early for the pacers. It’s all about trying different combinations to see what works for us. We’re playing about 15-20 ODIs before the World Cup, so it’s about trying two things. Out,” Gill said.Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted that his team too would have preferred to bowl first but is confident of putting up a strong performance.“We wanted to bowl first, but it is not in our hands; we need to start well with the bat. We have done well in the recent past, this is the first time we are playing India in their home conditions, we are excited and hopefully we will do well. There are three seamers and three spinners, one seamer is an all-rounder,” Shahidi said.With two debutants in the Indian XI, the return of favorable weather conditions and an added layer of unpredictability in the shorter 25-over format, the stage is set for an absorbing contest.Teams:Afghanistan (Playing XI): Ibrahim Zadran, Rehmanullah Garbaz, Siddiqullah Atul, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Umarzai, Ikram Ali Khel (w), Rashid KhanMuhammad Salim Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Ziaur Rahman SharifiIndia (Playing XI): Shibman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas IyerIshan Kishan (W), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshad Singh, Prasad Krishna
