New Delhi: Every cricketer dreams of taking a wicket on debut. Prince Yadav’s ODI debut had all the ingredients of a dream start – a wicket, celebrations and teammates arriving to congratulate him. But within seconds, it turned into a moment of heartbreak at Lucknow’s Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekna Cricket Stadium.The young fast bowler thought he had picked up his first ODI wicket when Afghanistan opener Rehmanullah Garbaz mistimed a pull shot and gave Arsdeep Singh an easy catch at mid-on. Prince celebrated, joined by his teammates in high-fives, and smiles all around. Then came the dreaded siren.As the no-ball alarm started ringing around the stadium, the celebration came to an abrupt halt. The wicket was overturned when replays showed that Prince had been bowled by the slimmest of margins. The young fast bowler could only manage a disappointed smile as reality sank in.The delivery fixed everything. Prince hits it short and rushes Garbaz into an uncomfortable pull shot. The Afghanistan batsman had no control over the stroke, with Arsdeep lofting the ball into the air before completing a comfortable catch.But instead of going back to the pavilion, Garbaz survived and was awarded a free hit, allowing Prince to endure one of cricket’s cruelest debut moments.The incident took place after India were bowled out for 402 in the second ODI of the three-match series.After Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl, India once again continued to experiment ahead of next year’s World Cup. Yashvi Jaiswal was promoted to open alongside Rohit Sharma during the captaincy. Shabman Gul Went down to no. 3.Jaiswal’s stay was short-lived as he managed just four runs, but Rohit looked impressive during his innings of 48 runs, before Rashid Khan produced a trademark googly to clean him up.What followed was a batting masterclass from Gayle Orr Ishan Kishan.Gill battled oppressive heat, pain and physical discomfort to score a mammoth 154, his ninth ODI century and first as India’s ODI captain. The stylish right-hander combined elegance with authority, anchoring the entire innings while punishing anything loose.The cushion provided the perfect foil. The left-handed batsman ended his three-year wait for an ODI century by scoring 125 runs off just 79 balls. His innings featured powerful pulls, fearless strokeplay and innovative hitting, including two one-handed sixes.Gayle and Kishan combined for 224 runs in just 141 balls for the third wicket, taking the game completely away from Afghanistan.Despite Gill’s valiant efforts, India suffered a dramatic defeat in the closing stages. Ningyalia Khorote led Afghanistan’s fightback with figures of 4/76, while Rashid Khan took three wickets.KL Rahul fell for a first-ball wicket, while Shreyas Iyer’s brilliant cameo ended on 26. India finally lost seven wickets in the last 10 overs but still scored a magnificent 402 runs.As Afghanistan began their chase, most of the attention immediately shifted to Prince Yadav. The debutant’s maiden ODI wicket was within his grasp, only for it to be snuffed out moments later by a modest no-ball.It was a painful introduction to international cricket, but it also showed his ability to trouble batsmen at the highest level.
