CWC 2019: IND vs AFG Preview – Changes likely as India face struggling Afghans
Two teams with completely contrasting performance curves collide with each other at Southampton on Saturday (22nd June). One team is yet to lose and one team is yet to win. The Indian juggernaut has crushed every opposition in its path while the Afghan ship is leaking profusely.
For India, this is the perfect opportunity to try out their reserves. The Men in Blue faced four difficult opponents first up and emerged as winners in three completed games. Their performances so far have been flawless. This encounter against Afghanistan provides the Indian team management with an opportunity to test their bench strength before they head into the business end.
Plagued with inner turmoils, the Afghanistan side is looking off-colour. They were competitive only against Sri Lanka and meekly surrendered against the top nations. In their last match, England bashed Afghan bowlers out of Manchester to break plenty of records. Afghanistan batsmen showed promising signs by batting out the full quota of 50 overs without getting all out. The Indian team will be another daunting challenge for the latest Asian team.
Match Info
India vs Afghanistan, 28th Match
The Rose Bowl, Southampton (03:00 PM)
Head-to-Head
This will be the first Indo-Afghan encounter in the ODI World Cup. Previously, these two have faced each other in two ODIs. In 2014, India cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket win. The second match between these two nations ended in a tie as Rashid Khan dismissed Ravindra Jadeja on the penultimate ball of the game.
Team News
India
Indian team selection is a national debate and another round of discussion was added to it after Dhawan’s departure. In the last match, Virat Kohli shuffled KL Rahul at the top and included Vijay Shankar in place of the injured opener. The all-rounder himself suffered an injury in the nets. India now has an option of trying out Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik in the playing XI.
One forced change for India will be that of Jasprit Bumrah’s partner. Mohammad Shami will be taking Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s place in the team.
Afghanistan
Captain Naib surprised everyone by dropping Hazratullah Zazai from the match against England. The aggressive opener gathered runs in a streaky manner and kept gifting his wicket away. Naib opened in place of Zazai and batted with authority. Dawlat Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rehman received a chance and did enough to secure their place. Afghanistan may well go in without any changes.
Key Players
Virat Kohli (India): In all three matches so far, the openers have hogged the show. World’s number one ODI batsman has scored 177 runs in the three outings but we are yet to see a Kohli special. Against Afghanistan, he will have a great chance to treat the fans to a batting masterclass.
Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan): Against England, Naib grabbed three wickets and scored a quick-fire 37 off 28 balls at the opening slot. The all-rounder proved his pedigree versus the tournament favourites, India is another daunting challenge.
Probable XI
India: KL Rahul, R Sharma, V Kohli (c), H Pandya, MS Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant/Dinesh Karthik, K Jadhav, M Shami, K Yadav, Y Chahal, J Bumrah
Afghanistan: Noor Ali Zadran, G Naib (c), R Shah, H Shahidi, A Afghan, M Nabi, N Zadran, R Khan, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), D Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
