Shubman Gill maps out Team India's path to consistency across conditions: 'All about being in difficult situations'

India captain Shubman Gill highlighted his discussion with head coach Gautam Gambhir on how to make the team a consistent all-around side during the toss for the second India-Afghanistan ODI match at Lucknow on Wednesday.

Team India is coming off a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the first ODI match at Dharamshala. Captain Gill delivered a clinical knock, while KL Rahul impressed with his strokeplay during the chase in the rain-curtailed match after Afghanistan were restricted to 194 in 24.5 overs.

As India face Afghanistan at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Gill emphasised the importance of building a side that can remain consistent and competitive in all conditions.

Gill: 'Need to chase down big scores'

Speaking at the toss, Gill stressed the need to handle pressure and chase down big scores in tough situations. He added that the team's success also depends on being clinical and executing precisely with the ball.

More from Firstcricket

Also Read | India vs Afghanistan LIVE Score, 2nd ODI at Lucknow

"It's all about being in difficult situations and being able to chase down big scores and how we can be clinical with our bowling," Gill said.

Prince Yadav makes India debut as AFG opt to bowl 

Afghanistan won the toss and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi opted to bowl first. The visitors announced three key changes after Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah and Zia were ruled out. Rasooli will debut, while Bilal has been included along with another change.

Team India also announced three changes, with Prince Yadav making his ODI debut, while all-rounder Nitish Reddy misses out due to quad issues. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been included in the Playing XI.

India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.

Afghanistan Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Darwish Rasooli, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Bilal Sami.