India’s opener is its first Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup, against the favourites Afghanistan on Thursday. This game will mainly focus on Virat Kohli who wants to return to his best form after a lean patch and Kuldeep Yadav, the left arm spinner who hopes to get an opportunity to play.
The team’s composition ahead of the match is the key talking point. India needs to decide whether they should go with the same line-up that worked in their favor during the group stage or use their leading spinner from last year Kuldeep Yadav at perhaps one expense of one fast bowler said PTI.
At the start of this tournament skipper Rohit Sharma suggested that he was keen on fielding all four all-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.
This strategy has been successful in New York where bowlers have an upper hand and Rohit is likely to retain a side that bats until number 8 for today’s match.
To accommodate Kuldeep, India would need to drop either Mohammed Siraj or Arshdeep Singh and Siraj is likely going to miss out.
Recent practice sessions suggest that spinners may enjoy playing at Kensington Oval but there is also a slight wind which might help pacers swing it around during powerplays.
Kohli’s batting has not yet gone past ten runs per innings in this competition so it’s him who every eye will be pinned upon. He didn’t score well in New York because his assaultive mode will surely work on better pitches in Caribbean islands where he’ll be expected to thrive as always. The intensity levels as well as commitment are some of his traits known about him even outside training at 35 years old
Afghanistan were heavily defeated by West Indies at St Lucia enroute Super 8s stage. Their once invincible bowling attack was destroyed by West Indies’ power-packed batting line-up.
Captain Rashid Khan, however, dismissed the loss as a small hiccup that has not dented his side’s chances of reaching the semifinals.
“As a bowler, you need to come up with plans to keep the scoring to under 10. Our morale is still high and we are not affected by this loss. We have achieved our first goal of reaching the Super 8s and now it is about taking the next step,” said Rashid.
Fazalhaq Farooqi (12 wickets) – left arm pacer during powerplay – will be heavily relied upon by Rashid while trying to swing one back in at Rohit and Kohli.
Rashid himself will aim to take wickets while maintaining a low economy rate during the middle overs.
Squad:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh;
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Mohammad Ishaq, NangeyaliaKharote
