India will lock horns against a high-flying Afghanistan in the 44th match of the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday. India won three matches in the group stage and their game against Canada was washed out due to rain.
On the other hand, Afghanistan registered three convincing wins but suffered a huge loss of 104 runs against the West Indies in their last game.
India’s bowling has been right on the money with Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh delivering the goods. However, India’s batting has lacked calmness in the middle as the top order has failed to deliver. The Rohit Sharma-led hasn’t been clinical in the tough conditions and they will be happy to move to the West Indies, where the pitches are expected to be batter’s friend.
Virat Kohli has managed only five runs in three games and the talisman will want to bring his A-game to the Super 8 stage as he will hold the key for the Men in Blue. India could also think of adding Kuldeep Yadav to the playing XI as he can be a wicket-taking option in the middle overs.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan has come up with a collective effort with both bat and ball. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (167 runs in four matches) has given a solid start to the team whereas Fazalhaq Farooqi has been the best bowler of the tournament with 12 scalps.
Match Prediction: India will start as favorites against Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
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