India look to seal the series against Afghanistan in Lucknow
India lead 1-0 and can wrap up the series when they face Afghanistan in the second ODI at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium on Wednesday. Gurbaz’s fireworks aside, Afghanistan must find a lot more with the bat to stay alive.
Jun 15, 2026
India arrive in Lucknow with the series in their grip. A seven-wicket win in the rain-hit opener at Dharamsala put Shubman Gill’s side 1-0 up, and a second victory at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Wednesday would seal the three-match series with a game to spare. Afghanistan, beaten heavily in the one-off Test earlier in the tour, need a response in the format they trust most.
Gill sets the tone in the opener
The first ODI barely resembled a 50-over contest. Persistent drizzle delayed the start by more than four hours and forced the match down to 25 overs a side, turning it into a sprint. Afghanistan were bowled out for 194, and India knocked off the target inside 23 overs to win with 13 balls to spare.
Gill carried the chase, finishing unbeaten on 84 from 66 balls and collecting the player-of-the-match award. KL Rahul gave the innings its late punch with a quickfire unbeaten 39, and Ishan Kishan chipped in with 34 at the top. India never looked stretched once they settled, which is the kind of control Afghanistan will have to disturb in Lucknow.
Gurbaz dazzles, the rest go quiet
Afghanistan’s innings was a one-man show. Rahmanullah Gurbaz tore into the new ball and reached three figures in just 48 balls, finishing with 102 off 51, the fastest one-day hundred by an Afghanistan batter. It was thrilling while it lasted, but once he fell the innings deflated, and the side folded for 194 without anyone else passing fifty.
That is the pattern Afghanistan have to break. Their white-ball cricket has long been built on a few match-winners carrying the load, and a total of 194 was never going to test a batting order this deep, even in a shortened game. If Gurbaz fires again at Ekana, he needs a partner to stay with him.
India’s new faces make their mark
The most encouraging sign for India was where the wickets came from. With Jasprit Bumrah rested for the series, the selectors handed opportunities to younger bowlers, and the debutants delivered. Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey both picked up three wickets in the opener, sharing the new-ball and middle-overs work and looking unfazed on the big stage.
For a side managing the workloads of its senior quicks, that depth matters. Ekana has a reputation as a slow, grippy surface that rewards spin and change of pace, so the spinners in India’s group could have an even bigger say in the second game than they did in Dharamsala.
Team news and what is at stake
India are without Virat Kohli, who was ruled out of the ODIs with a hamstring injury picked up in the IPL 2026 final, with Yashasvi Jaiswal named as his replacement. Gill leads the side with Shreyas Iyer as his deputy. The makeup of the XI around them, and how India manage their resources with a third ODI in Chennai to follow on June 20, will shape the selection at Ekana.
For Afghanistan, the equation is simpler. Lose in Lucknow and the series is gone. They will back their batting to post a far bigger number on a surface they enjoy, and their own spinners can make life awkward for India under the lights. Afghanistan know they are better than a 2-0 deficit would suggest, and Wednesday is their chance to prove it before the series slips away.