India vs Afghanistan, World Cup 2023: Team India look for second win in row

New Delhi: Hosts India will look for their second win in a row in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 during their encounter against Afghanistan here on Wednesday.

Both India and Afghanistan suffered stutters during their respective batting efforts in Dharamsala and Chennai. India managed to get out of trouble from 2/3 at the start of their pursuit of 200 against Australia, to eventually win the game by six wickets.

However, Afghanistan failed to make the most of a decent start and fell apart in the middle overs against the Bangladesh spinners. They slid from 112/2 to 156 all out, and lost the game against the Tigers by six wickets.

While both teams will be looking for an improvement in their batting performance, the focus could turn to their respective spinners. Both sides possess some of the finest tweakers in international cricket, and could well put them to good use on Wednesday.

Virat Kohli stood tall with an exceptional 85 against Australia in Chepauk. He managed to stave off the new ball threat and then overcame the turn to help India to a first win in this World Cup.

India would hope that the experienced batsman continues doing well on his home ground. There is no dearth of experience in the India top-order, but given the way the track behaved on Saturday during the South Africa-Sri Lanka encounter, they’d want an experienced head to hold the innings together while the others go for their shots.

Kohli can play just that role for India on Wednesday.

Rashid Khan went wicketless during Afghanistan’s encounter against Bangladesh, and as a result the side didn't prove to be much of a challenge in the contest.

Rashid has been a key breakthrough provider for his team, with 172 wickets at an average below 20, and Afghanistan will hope that their star bowler is on top form against India.

Given his experience in these conditions playing in the Indian Premier League, Rashid will know the exact tactics he needs to deploy to get the best out of the wickets.

Squads

India

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

Afghanistan

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq. (UNI)