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IND vs AFG 2026, 1st ODI: As most of northern India battles extreme heat with temperatures in the high 40 degrees Celsius, India and Afghanistan will begin their three-match ODI series in the cooler climates of Dharamshala in the hills of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday. India and Afghanistan will begin a first-ever bilateral ODI series at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.
The toss for the first ODI between India and Afghanistan in Dharamshala has been delayed by more than an hour due to heavy rain on Saturday. We have started to lose overs from 2pm onwards.
Both teams need to play at least 20 overs each for it to be classified an ODI match. We will start to lose overs in the contest if the match did not begin by 2pm. The deadline to start the game is 6.32pm to organise a 20-overs-a-side match.
But while temperatures might be cool, there is a major threat of rain which could wash out the first ODI between India and Afghanistan. Not only wet weather, the MET department have also predicted thunderstorms in Dharamshala on Saturday afternoon as well.
When the match gets underway around 130pm IST on Saturday, the temperatures are expected to be around 19 degrees Celsius but there will be 64 per cent cloud cover in the city. The humidity is also expected to be high around 66 per cent.
The MET department is predicting around 4.9mm of rain on Saturday afternoon with a couple a showers as well as a thunderstorm. Unfortunately for the cricket fans, there is around 90 per cent possibility of rain on Saturday.
There chances that the weather will clear out by evening and we can hope for a rain-shortened match to take place in Dharamshala as well. If the match is hit by wet weather, then DLS is expected to play a major role.
Just a couple of days back, India ‘A’ lost a tri-series match to Afghanistan ‘A’ due to rain and bad light in Dambulla in Sri Lanka.
Dharamshala weather prediction for Saturday.
The temperature by the evening is expected to drop down to around 17 degrees in the hilly climates of Dharamshala.
The HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala will be hosting their first-ever bilateral ODI match since 2017. The fast bowlers from both sides can expect some swing in the air and movement from pitch.
The ODI match at the venue was played in the World Cup 2023 between Australia and New Zealand. The Aussies piled up a massive 388 runs and the Black Caps fell just short by 5 runs.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was confident of knowing the conditions here, having faced Bangladesh at the same venue in the ODI World Cup 2023. “We have experience of playing in this ground. We played last in 2023 World Cup against Bangladesh. I still remember that. I think in Indian conditions, when it’s hot, most probably it’s spin wickets. So, I think, I feel that our advantage will be spinners,” Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said in the pre-match press conference in Dharamshala on Friday.
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