Bengaluru (Karnataka): Indian captain Rohit Sharma secured victory in the toss and chose to bat in the third and final T20I of the series against Afghanistan at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
With a 2-0 lead in the series, India aims to clinch a clean sweep in this crucial encounter. This marks their final T20I before the eagerly anticipated T20 World Cup, scheduled later this year in the West Indies and the United States.
In preparation for the upcoming challenges, India has implemented three changes in their lineup. Sanju Samson, Avesh Khan, and Kuldeep Yadav have replaced Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, and Axar Patel, respectively.
Expressing his strategy at the toss, Rohit Sharma explained, "We will bat first. We bowled in the first two games, so we'll bat today. Nothing to do with the wicket, just want to try some combinations and give some chances. We have ticked a few boxes; this is another opportunity to try new faces. We have made three changes - Sanju, Avesh, and Kuldeep are in. Axar, Jitesh, and Arshdeep are out."
Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran shared his perspective, stating, "We wanted to bowl first. We have taken some positives from the series; we'll try for a few more today. We have got three changes as well."
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson(w), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran(c), Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Qais Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.
—Input from Agencies