The first-ever bilateral series between India and Afghanistan is set to commence on January 11. The two teams will lock horns in first of the three-match T20I series and it will be played at the PCA's IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. BCCI has preferred allotting home matches to those venues who didn't get to host a single World Cup game and the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to the T20I side has certainly added to the buzz around the series.
As far as team India is concerned, the side has played a total of four matches in the shortest format at the venue winning three and losing only one. The hosts last played in Mohali in 2022 against Australia and suffered their first and only loss with the visitors chasing 209 runs. Hardik Pandya had smashed 71 off just 30 balls in that game but he is out injured for the Afghanistan series even as Suryakumar Yadav who smashed 46 off 25 in that encounter is also missing from the upcoming encounter.
Among other wins, India have beaten the Aussies once, and also won against Sri Lanka and South Africa. No wonder, the men in blue are the favourites in this series but anything can happen in the shortest format and when the opposition is Afghanistan, any team will have to be wary. The Asian side played well in the World Cup in India last year beating teams like Pakistan and England and at one stage, were in contention to make it to the semis as well.
India's T20I record in Mohali
Played - 4; Won - 3; Lost - 1
As far as team India's overall record at the venue is concerned, the hosts have won 22 out of 35 matches in international cricket here since 1993. The team has lost only one Test match out of 14 while winning 8 and drawing 5. In ODIs, Mohali crowd has witnessed India winning 11 out of 17 matches including the semifinal of World Cup 2011 against Pakistan.
India's record in international cricket in Mohali
Played - 35; Won - 22; Lost - 8; Draw - 5
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.
