IND vs AFG LIVE Score, 2nd ODI Match of India vs Afghanistan

India opener Rohit Sharma surpasses Rahul Dravid for the fourth-most appearances by an Indian across formats with his 510th match today. Both have had identical international runs (12446) after turning 30 before this innings.

Most appearances by an Indian across formats

664 - Sachin Tendulkar

559 - Virat Kohli

538 - MS Dhoni

510* - Rohit

Who will it be that will pair up with Rohit Sharma this afternoon? Will the captain slide down to No. 3 in the absence of Virat Kohli or will Yashasvi Jaiswal simply fill in at number three? Either way, there's a lot to prove for both Rohit and Jaiswal today.

TOSS: Afghanistan win toss, opt to bowl

Gill: We would have bowled first as well. It's all about being in difficult situations and getting that experience. Three changes. Prince makes his debut. We've got Kuldeep and Jaiswal in.

Shahidi: We want to bowl first. Wicket looks fresh. I think it'll be spinning in the first innings. In the last game, we played really well, we missed the partnerships. We had one partnership and then threw away our wickets. Hopefully we come back stronger. Our boys have a lot of passion of cricket. We have three changes. Nabi is sick, Azmat got injured and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi isn't playing. Bilal, Darwish Rasooli and one more.

Shubman Gill and Hashmatullah Shahidi in the middle for the coin flip.

Our correspondent Tushar Bhaduri pings from Lucknow: "With five minutes to go for the toss, the stands look sparsely crowded. Could be due to the heat. The conditions have prompted a change in Playing Conditions. There will now be three drinks breaks during the first innings - at 2.30 pm, 3.30 pm and 4.30pm

A ban for age-fraud, a tennis to leather-ball transition at 18. A tough path to the IPL. A dream second season. A wonder ball to Virat Kohli followed by an ODI and T20I call-up. A dream that he had instilled in himself is finally coming to fruition in Lucknow, the city of his IPL franchise. Here's Lalith Kalidas tracing Prince Yadav's journey to Team India

A debut cap has been handed out to Prince Yadav, the sprightly seamer from Delhi who lit up the IPL with the Lucknow Super Giants. What a journey has it been for the man from a quaint village near Najafgarh in the capital.

Despite the critics sharpening over his future in the ODI side, India's spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule has backed Rohit Sharma as a vital cog in the ODI wheel in the months ahead.

"Rohit Sharma is an experienced player, he is a champion cricketer. He is somebody who adds value to this team with his experience not only batting wise but his leadership qualities also rubs off on to all the boys with Shubman (Gill) also," Bahutule told reporters in Lucknow.

"Him being in this side is definitely very, very important and he is somebody who understands each game, who understands what is expected from him and from the team.

"I think he is just been looking forward to every match and all the work he is putting in is like he has just started playing," he added.

Shubman Gill's command in the one-day format continues to grow. It maybe a pity that India do not play enough 50-over games these days that Gill may not eventually be able to raise his run-scoring tally to legendary levels even if he may possess the gifts needed to reach there. During the first ODI, Gill romped past 3000 runs in the format in only his 62nd innings. It is only bettered by South Africa legend Hashim Amla in ODI history, with Gill bettering the Indian record previously held by Shikhar Dhawan by 10 innings.

Rohit Sharma was from his glorious touch on a rainy evening in Dharamsala. When the skies had cleared up and India were tasked with a 195-run chase in his first India game in five months, Rohit was left wringing his hand in pain with the first ball that was angled towards him after two wides and a no-ball. He was hurried by the bouncer from Azmatullah Omarzai. He would go on to pull the ball again, albeit with poor timing, clear the fence. Rohit was slowly finding his feet before a mix-up with Shubman Gill ended in a run-out.

He looked far from the animated man he could be, or rather was during his captaincy tenure, on the field earlier in the night. Standing in unusual pockets at backward point and long-on, Rohit cut a lone figure through the evening. With questions hanging over his future on the road to the 2027 World Cup, it is only apt for the 39-year-old that he brings up his A-game in Lucknow to quell the detractors, or rather risk facing loud music ahead of the final game in Chennai.

Welcome to the live coverage of the second ODI between India and Afghanistan. It's an action-packed day in the world of sports but one eye will remain on the cricketing action in Lucknow nevertheless. The spotlight will be reserved on former skipper Rohit Sharma at a venue where he played one of the all-time great World Cup knocks three years ago.

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