The first Test between India vs Afghanistan is being played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday, June 14, 2018. This match will mark the debut for Afghanistan in Test cricket, as they become the 12th nation to play 5-day Test cricket. The match starts at 9:30 AM IST, 04 AM GMT.

India won the toss and elected to bat first. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane said after the toss, "It's important to start well after coming off the IPL. It is a historic moment for Afghanistan, I'm really excited," Business-Standard reported.

Afghan skipper Stanikzai said, "Very proud moment.

All guys have first-class experience. Inshallah, we can do well."

The Indian batsmen started their play in style, scoring 158 for the loss of no wickets after 27 overs. Shikar Dhawan was on fire, scoring a quickfire century (105*) with 17 boundaries and one huge six. Vijay was at the crease with 41 runs. Afghan star spinner Rashid Khan was very expensive in his first four overs giving away 35 runs.

Team news

India: Ajinkya Rahane is set to lead the team and bat at no.4 in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli.

Karun Nair or KL Rahul will fit in the middle order. Dinesh Karthik has replaced the regular keeper Wriddhaman Saha, who is out with an injury. Speedster Shami will be missing this game.

The rest of the lineup will be the usual one which India plays for the home test matches.

All three openers are playing, which suggests KL Rahul will bat at number 4. Nair, Kuldeep, Thakur and Navdeep Saini are not going to play.

Afghanistan: With likes of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, their lineup seems pretty settled. Asghar Stanikzai will be leading them in this historic Test match, while they have opted for a set of specialist first-class players for this game.

As history unfolds for them, there will be hope that Afghanistan rises further in their quest to become a world-class cricketing nation.

Pitch and conditions

The Bangalore pitch is expected to be bouncy in the first couple of days. As the game progresses, the pitch will get some wear and offer good spin for the bowlers. All in all, we can still expect some good runs being made here as well.

The weather could be a concern in this test, with the possibility of rain on each day.

We can only hope that the rain is not too much to spoil the entire Test.

Where to watch

The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports and Star Sports HD channels in India from 9:30 IST onwards. The live streaming and highlights will be available on Hotstar's app and website.

ITV 1 and 4, along with Sky Sports will broadcast in the United Kingdom:

ESPN 3 and Willow TV will cover the game live in the US.
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