Nitish Reddy Sore Thigh Forces Miss of 2nd ODI against Afghanistan
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 17 (ANI): India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the second One-Day International against Afghanistan at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow due to a sore left thigh. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared the update on X, stating that Reddy was unavailable for selection and that the BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress.
Young seamer Prince Yadav received his ODI debut cap ahead of the match, while Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav returned to the playing XI, replacing Harsh Dubey and Prasidh Krishna.
India's Batting Performance
India were asked to bat first and posted a massive total of 402 runs, powered by centuries from Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. The innings began with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, but Jaiswal was dismissed early by Mohammad Saleem Safi. Gill then joined Sharma, who played aggressively, hitting six fours and two sixes before being bowled by Rashid Khan for 48.
Kishan came in at number four and kept the scoreboard moving with big shots. Gill reached his fifty with a six off Nangeyalia Kharote in the 17th over and later completed his ninth ODI century with a boundary off Bilal Sami in the 33rd over. This was his first ODI hundred as captain. Kishan followed suit, hitting three consecutive boundaries off Sami to complete his second ODI century. He reached his fifty in 52 balls and scored the next 53 runs off just 19 balls.
The duo added 224 runs for the third wicket before Kharote broke the partnership in the 37th over, dismissing Kishan for 125 off 79 balls, including 14 fours and seven sixes. Shreyas Iyer then joined Gill and added 40 runs for the fourth wicket. Gill crossed 150 with a single off Allah Ghazanfar in the 42nd over but was dismissed while attempting a big shot against Kharote in the 43rd over, scoring 154 off 110 balls with 22 fours and two sixes.
KL Rahul departed for a golden duck, and Iyer contributed 26 off 24 balls before falling to Kharote. Washington Sundar helped India cross the 400-run mark with a valuable 19 runs, but India were bowled out in 49.5 overs, setting a target of 403 runs. Rashid Khan took three wickets, Kharote picked four, while Ghazanfar and Safi took one each.
Series Context
India lead the three-match ODI series 1-0 and aim to seal the series with a win in Lucknow. Afghanistan need a victory to stay alive in the series.
