16 June,2026 05:32 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Gurnoor Brar (Pic: X/@BCCI)
Team India secured a dominating seven-wicket win in the rain-curtailed first ODI match against Afghanistan at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
During the match, Team India's debutants Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey managed to claim three wickets each. Dubey, in his spell of five overs, conceded 47 runs, whereas Brar bowled 4.5 overs and gave away 27 runs.
Speaking on JioStar, pacer Brar revealed his favourite bowler in international cricket. He named former South African pacer Dale Steyn as his favourite bowler and explained how he loved the former cricketer's aggression and celebration after picking up wickets.
"My favourite bowler is Dale Steyn. Being the number one bowler for seven to eight years is a huge achievement. That kind of consistency is rare. The aggression he bowled with was incredible. He didn't just take wickets; he made batters fear him. Every time he ran in, you knew something was going to happen. I am a big fan of that attitude. The way he celebrated after picking up a wicket, the roar, the energy, the intensity, I loved that. It showed how much it meant to him," he said.
"He didn't just want wickets; he wanted to dominate. I really liked his whole approach. That is the kind of fast bowler I want to be," added Brar.
After securing victory in the first match, the "Men in Blue" will lock horns with the Afghans in the second ODI match. The clash is scheduled to be played on June 17 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow.
The visitors will look to bounce back and secure a victory in Lucknow to keep the series alive.
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill (C), Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harsh Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Prince Yadav.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah, Fareed Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Abdul Rasooli, Nangeyalia Kahrote, Qais Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Bilal Sami, Mohammad Saleem, Allah Ghazanfar, Bashir Ahmad.
