IND vs AFG 2026: Nitish Kumar Reddy halts press conference to answer mother's phone call

Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was involved in a heartfelt moment during the post-match press conference after India's seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first ODI at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.

During the post-match press conference after the game, Nitish, who was taking over the media duties, excused himself for a moment to answer a phone call from his mother. Speaking in Telugu, the all-rounder assured his mother that he would call back in five minutes, after which he sheepishly apologised to the media members in the room. The video of the incident was posted on social media by the BCCI's official account, going viral for its heartwarming nature.

The post-match presser can wait but a call from Mom simply cannot 😊#TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @NKReddy07

Meanwhile, India defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets in a rain-affected game reduced to 25 overs per side to take a 1-0 lead in the series, after a dominant innings and 300-run win in the one-off Test recently.

Electing to field, they were off to a brilliant start with debutant Gurnoor Brar removing Ibrahim Zadran and Arshdeep Singh's double-strike leaving Afghanistan reeling at 26 for 3. Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a brilliant century but fell to Reddy, who finished with figures of 2 for 31 in four overs. Brar and fellow debutant Harsh Dubey finished with three-fers as Afghanistan were bundled out for 194 in their 25 overs.

India were dented early with Rohit Sharma being run out for 16, but skipper Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan stitched a partnership of 70 from just 43 balls. Kishan fell for 34 and shortly afterwards Shreyas Iyer fell for 12.

Despite the double blow, Gill motored on, stitching an unbeaten 53-run stand with KL Rahul to take his side home with 13 balls to spare. The skipper finished unbeaten on 84 off 66 balls, while Rahul remained unbeaten on 39 off just 19 balls.

The second ODI of the series will be played in Lucknow on Wednesday, June 17.