India vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I: Stats Preview of Players' Records and Approaching Milestones

The home season of Team India (IND) is here as they face Asian side Afghanistan (AFG) in a three-match T20 international series. The first of the three games is scheduled to be played on Thursday, January 11, at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. The second and third encounters will be played on January 14 and 17, respectively, in Indore and Bangalore.

Regular skipper Rohit Sharma is back and will lead his side from the front again. Star batter Virat Kohli is set to miss the opening fixture due to personal reasons but he will participate in the remaining two matches. The former has not featured in the shortest international format since India’s exit from the semi-final of the T20 World Cup held in Australia, back in 2022.

The Indian captain will be partnered by explosive left-handed batter Yashasvi Jaiswal while Shubman Gill is expected to be slotted at number three. Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar could be the frontline seam bowlers while one of the lead spinners Kuldeep Yadav, or Ravi Bishnoi will get the nod. The visitors have already suffered a huge setback as their spin wizard Rashid Khan will miss the series due to injury. The 22-year-old batter Ibrahim Zadran will don the captaincy hat for the Afghans. It’s a T20 World Cup year as both teams will look to get their combinations right and begin the series on a high.

Click here: IND vs AFG Live Score, 1st T20I Match

 Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of the 1st T20I between India and Afghanistan:

Head-to-Head: The Indians and the Afghans have met each other five times in T20 internationals with the Men in Blue winning on four occasions. The Afghans are still winless against their opposition as the remaining game ended with no result.

5 – Rohit Sharma (82) requires five big hits to surpass Aaron Finch (82) and Eoin Morgan (86) and become the skipper with the most sixes in T20 internationals.

4 - Axar Patel (196) needs four wickets to complete 200 wickets in T20 matches.

5 - Axar (45) requires five wickets to complete 50 wickets in T20 internationals.

5 - Washington Sundar (95) is five scalps away from reaching the milestone of 100 wickets in T20s.

147 – Rohit Sharma (3853) needs 147 runs to complete 4000 runs in T20Is.

7 - Najibullah Zadran (93) needs seven sixes to complete 100 sixes in T20Is.

5 - Mohammad Nabi (95) requires five sixes to reach 100 maximums in the shortest international format.

5 - Nabi (195) also needs five sixes to get to 200 sixes across formats.

3 - Karim Janat (97) is three scalps away from completing 100 wickets in T20 games.

Click here: IND vs AFG 2024 Batting and Bowling Stats