India v Afghanistan First ODI Prediction, Tips and Bet Builder

India face Afghanistan in the opening ODI at Dharamsala on Saturday, with both sides eager to set the tone for the series.

India were beaten 2-1 by New Zealand in this format back in January and their recent ODI form has been patchy.

But they remain formidable at home, where their top order and spin attack usually dominate.

Afghanistan arrive with the confidence that comes with a four-match winning streak in ODI cricket.

But they were no match for the hosts in this month’s one-off Test match and still need to find a way to post a challenging total against a world‑class bowling attack.

They catch a break with the news that Virat Kohli is unable to play because of injury, but there is still enough class in the Indian batting lineup to make them toil in the field.

India v Afghanistan First ODI Tips Summary

Best Bet – India -5.5 wickets / -72.5 runs @ 4/5
Alternative Bet – Shubman Gill Over 34.5 runs @ 5/6
Bet Builder – Highest Opening Partnership - India, Ibrahim Zadran 30+ runs & Rashid Khan 2+ wickets @ 17/2

India v Afghanistan First ODI Prediction

Best Bet: India -5.5 wickets / -72.5 runs @ 4/5

India have historically proven too strong for Afghanistan in all forms of cricket and their recent Test victory by an innings and 300 runs underlined the gulf in class between the teams.

The Afghans famously tied an Asian Cup match against an India side featuring MS Dhoni and KL Rahul in 2018 and lost by only 11 runs in Southampton at the following year’s World Cup.

But both previous meetings between these nations in India have returned eight-wicket wins for the hosts.

If India bat first, they should comfortably post 300+ and that score has proved too daunting for Afghanistan to chase of late.

India prefer to chase, however, and their recent record suggests they are rarely beaten when their batters know what short of total is required.

With India’s superior batting depth, home advantage, and a more balanced attack, backing them to win comfortably looks the most logical play.

Alternative Bet: Shubman Gill Over 34.5 runs @ 5/6

India captain Shubman Gill made 126 in his only innings in the Test match, his second century in the space of a fortnight at New Chandigarh after a stunning IPL knock there for Gujarat Titans.

His ability to switch between formats is unrivalled and, given his excellent record in 50-over cricket, it would be no surprise to see him beat his 34.5-run line on Saturday.

The 26-year-old averages over 60 in ODIs played in India and has passed 50 in eight of his last 11 knocks on home soil.

India v Afghanistan First ODI Bet Builder Tip

• Highest Opening Partnership - India
• Ibrahim Zadran 30+ runs
• Rashid Khan 2+ wickets
  
  Pays 17/2

India’s combination of Rohit Sharma and Gill put on the highest opening partnership in two of the three ODIs in New Zealand and should handle the unique conditions in Dharamsala better than their Afghan counterparts.

That said, Zadran has been in great batting form in 50-over cricket, where he averages over 50 for his country, and he can be backed to pass 30 runs on Saturday.

Finally, add Rashid Khan to take two or more wickets to the Bet Builder. The leg spinner has claimed 11 scalps in his last three ODIs.

Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.

Key Match Stats

• Since 2010, India have won 26 bilateral series and lost only five at home
• They have won three of the four ODIs played against Afghanistan with the other tied back in 2018
• The Men in Blue have lost four of their last five ODIs when batting first
• Afghanistan are coming into the ODI series on a four-match winning streak
• Ibrahim Zadran averaged 71.5 across his his six ODI innings in 2025 with one huge century and two scores of 95
• Shubman Gill averages 60.37 in home ODIs

Tactics, Form & Team News

India are without injured Virat Kohli with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan competing to replace the legendary batter at number three.

Rohit Sharma and Gill are the openers with Rahul and Iyer adding class to the middle order while Nitish Kumar Reddy looks set to balance the side in the absence of Hardik Pandya, who has a quad strain.

Arshdeep Singh brings early swing and left-arm angle to the pace department with Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar as the spin options.

Probable India XI: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (cap), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Prince Yadav.

As for Afghanistan, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi missed the team’s last practice session in Mohali before travelling north.

But both are expected to feature in a spin-heavy attack alongside AM Ghazanfar.

Azmatullah Omarzai and Bilal Sami take care of pace duties with Mohammad Saleem tipped to join them in the side after his stunning Test match performance.

Afghanistan’s batting hinges on the opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, both capable of long innings.

Probable Afghanistan XI: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Darwish Rasooli, 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 AM Ghazanfar, 10 Bilal Sami, 11 Mohammad Saleem.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.