The game marked the start of team India’s preparations for the ODI World Cup in 2027 and the hosts ended up ticking most boxes after continuous rain delayed the game by 4 hours and 15 minutes
Published: June 13, 2026, 11:27 PM IST
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India’s captain Shubman Gill, right, and KL Rahul interact after winning an ODI cricket match between India and Afghanistan, in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (Image credits: PTI)
Shubman Gill’s team India registered a close, yet convincing 7-wicket victory over Afghanistan in the 1st of a 3-match ODI series here at the scenic HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The Men in Blue, who are without star batter Virat Kohli, produced a sensational all-round performance to gain a 1-0 lead ahead of the 2nd one-day on Wednesday, June 17.
The game marked the start of team India’s preparations for the ODI World Cup in 2027 and the hosts ended up ticking most boxes after continuous rain delayed the game by 4 hours and 15 minutes. The match eventually started from 5:45PM and was cut to a 25-over affair.
India won the toss and elected to field, a decision that paid off immediately when debutant Gurnoor Brar struck in his very first over. Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz fought back brilliantly, smashing a spectacular century to put the Indian bowlers had kept the Afghans under immense pressure throughout the 1st innings.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was stand out batter for the visitors, smashing a record breaking 102 off just 51 balls and stitching a crucial 115-run partnership with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi after the Indians triggered an early top-order collapse.
Their partnership had laid the foundation for Afghanistan to post a total of 200+ but India’s late surge with the ball ruled out all those chances. Debutants Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey pulled the momentum back to the hosts with three wickets each to trigger another collapse in the middle-order and restrict Afghanistan to 194.
India’s chase was calculated and clinical right from the start. Opening the batting, captain Shubman Gill anchored the innings with an unbeaten 84. His opening partner Rohit Sharma (16 off 16) was run out after Gill turned down his call for a risky single in the 6th over of the run chase.
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With his form and fitness in focus, Rohit was not at his best but he did come up with a drive on the up and six off his trademark pull shot.
Ishan Kishan (34 off 22) looked good in his ODI comeback at number three before being outdone by a Rashid Khan googly. Shubman Gill the found the support of KL Rahul who went on to smash a quickfire 39 to completely take the game away from the visitors. The hosts cruised towards a 7-wicket victory with 13 balls to spare. Gill, who also became the fastest Indian to score 3000 ODI runs, was adjudged player of the match.
