India Crush Afghanistan by 170 Runs in Second ODI, Gill and Kishan Shine

LUCKNOW: On a day when temperatures touched 40 degrees Celsius in Lucknow, India turned up the heat on a relatively inexperienced Afghanistan bowling attack, batting them out of the game and sealing a 170-run win in the second ODI at the Ekana Stadium on Wednesday. The series victory, India's first in ODIs under Shubman Gill, was set up by the skipper himself, who produced a classy 154 off 110 balls, and Ishan Kishan, who smashed an aggressive 125 off 79 deliveries. Though India lost wickets in a heap towards the end and were bowled out for 402 in 49.5 overs, the total proved far beyond Afghanistan's reach.

Afghanistan's Reply Falls Short

Afghanistan were bowled out for 232 in 44.3 overs in reply, with debutant Darwish Rasooli unable to return after retiring hurt due to a hamstring injury. Rahmat Shah top-scored for the visitors with 79, but Afghanistan never seriously threatened India's target. Punjab pacers Arshdeep Singh and Gurnoor Brar finished with three wickets each, with the team management particularly pleased with Brar's performance.

Gurnoor Brar Impresses on Debut

Bowling consistently above 142 kmph, Brar unsettled an in-form Rahmanullah Gurbaz with pace and bounce. The opener lost his balance and fell on the crease while trying to deal with a searing yorker from Brar in the pacer's first over. In Brar's second, Gurbaz (41) nicked a back-of-a-length delivery to the wicketkeeper. Brar later returned to account for Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Saleem Safi, finishing with 3/60 from his 10 overs. He could have had a fourth, but Kuldeep Yadav spilled Rahmat at fine-leg. Debutant Prince Yadav also impressed, picking up two wickets and recovering well after being denied his maiden international wicket earlier because of a no-ball.

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Shubman Gill Continues Dominance

The snub from India's T20 World Cup squad seems to have spurred Gill on. After emerging as the second-highest run-getter in the last IPL with 732 runs in 16 games, Gill has become Afghanistan's tormentor-in-chief. After a century and an unbeaten 84 in his previous two innings against the visitors, Gill produced another high-quality knock here, despite sacrificing his opening slot to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who disappointed by falling cheaply for four.

Rohit Sharma Shows Glimpses of Old Form

With question marks over his form and fitness, Rohit Sharma showed glimpses of his old self with two trademark pulled sixes off pacer Mohammad Saleem Safi in the fourth over. Rohit played some exquisite shots during his stay before being outfoxed by a Rashid Khan googly for 48.