Venue: Sheikh Zayed International Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 141
Win percentage while batting first: 45.83%
Pitch conditions:
- While India will be happy to get away from Dubai and play at a new venue in Abu Dhabi, they still will have to be wary of the fact that the pitch has remained in favour of team's batting second in this World Cup.
- Afghanistan will be high on confidence given that they have played one match already at this venue, in which they defeated Namibia by a huge margin of 62 runs.
- In this World Cup, teams have struggled to put big scores on the board but Abu Dhabi is one venue where they can fancy adding up to 170 while batting first as the pitch remains favourable to batsmen.
- Fast bowlers have taken 60.97% of the wickets, compared to 39.03% for the spin bowlers.
Weather prediction:
It will not necessarily be a hot day in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday with the temperature hitting a high of 32°C around 1 o’clock and remain like that for the next two hours, from which it will drop down to 30°C around the time of the start of the match between India and Afghanistan. The skies will remain clear throughout the day as well as in the evening, with humidity levels ranging between 65-70%.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Matches played: 2
India won: 2
Afghanistan won: -
No result: -
In World Cup history:
Matches played: 2
India won: 2
Afghanistan won: -
Tied: -
Last 2 matches:
India won: 2
Afghanistan won: -
No result: -
Top 3 players from India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Top 3 players from Afghanistan: Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from India: KL Rahul, R Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, V Kohlii, Ravindra Jadeja
Top 5 players from Afghanistan: Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
Given the way this competition has panned out with some teams like Pakistan enjoying a great time out in the middle with the bat, the same cannot be said for the other teams such as India and Afghanistan in Group 2. Afghanistan were able to produce a strong performance against Scotland and Namibia which has given them two victories and a second spot in the points table of Group 2, but their batsmen flopped largely against Pakistan in a key clash. In the case of the Indian team, there is a desperate need of inspiration to get big scores triggered by flashes of individual brilliance knowing that their campaign looks over. Adding more to the batting strength will be key as both the teams have penetrative bowling lineups, with Afghanistan edging past India as far as spin bowling talent is concerned since they carry two world-class spinners in Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
In an ideal world, India would have walked into this contest as a red-hot favourites whereas Afghanistan would have taken the field as a novice side aiming to punch above their weight. But given how these two teams have fared so far in the World Cup, there is a sense that Afghanistan have a realistic chance of defeating India for the first time ever not only on the World Cup stage but also in the format. India are looking jaded, uninspired and dejected following defeats by big margins against Pakistan and New Zealand which has derailed their campaign in this tournament. On the other hand, Afghanistan have a squad buzzing with a lot of talent eager to make a mark and prove their point. Afghanistan ran Pakistan close in their game and there is no reason why they cannot give any different to the Indian team as well. On current performances, Afghanistan look a better team, but on paper and the promise that they have in their squad, and given that India are hurting, it will not be a wrong call to select more players from the Indian team for the fantasy cricket playing XI.
MORE INFORMATION: While India will be wary of the firepower that Afghanistan have in their ranks, they will be looking to open their account as far as victories is concerned in this World Cup. India still have an outside, mathematical chance of qualifying for the semifinals stage given that they win all their remaining matches by huge margins and hope that some other results go their way as well. India will need both New Zealand and Afghanistan to lose at least one of the remaining matches in order to qualify for the final four. On the other hand, Afghanistan will have to keep punching and pushing on further and ensure that they remain in a better position than the New Zealand side.
Players’ form: After an embarrassing performance in the do-or-die match against New Zealand last Sunday, Indian batsmen will be hurting the most in the camp. Neither have they clicked in the two matches in this World Cup so far, nor have they shown any signs of performances which they have the ability to produce. The likes of R Sharma, KL Rahul and V Kohlii will be under pressure after failing collectively. For Afghanistan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi and Hazratullah Zazai have scored most runs in this World Cup but they would want consistency from their batsmen. Rashid and Mujeeb will carry great responsibility of delivering against a dangerous Indian batting line-up which is looking for revival.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, V Kohlii (c), Ishan Kishan, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan
FANTASY XI: Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul (c), Mohammad Shahzad, V Kohlii, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Nabi, Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
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Pride at stake for India in clash against promising Afghanistan
The Indian cricket team's pride will be at stake when they take on a promising Afghanistan cricket team in what will be the third match for V Kohlii's team in the World Cup, wherein they will be seeking their first victory of the tournament.
The crushing defeats so far in the tournament against Pakistan by 10 wickets followed by an 8-wicket crashing at the hands of New Zealand has thrown India almost out of their contention for the semifinal stage, which marks their worst performance in a World Cup tournament for a very long time.
In 2014, India had lost to Sri Lanka in the final whereas in the previous edition of the World Cup, the eventual winners West Indies had pummeled India with their peculiar style of aggressive play with the bat.
India have been hurt badly not just by the margins of defeats, but the fact that they failed to compete in both the games which were critical for them to make it to the next round. The defeat to Pakistan was their first ever in a World Cup match whereas New Zealand maintained their clean sheet against the Indian team in any global event of the shortest format with third victory.
Indian batsmen are to carry greater blame than their bowlers for flopping miserably with the bat for two matches on the trot. At Dubai, the outcome of the coin toss also did not go in India's favour, as they were asked to bat first in both the games with the dew factor coming into play heavily when it was India's turn to bowl. But then, even if the dew factor had been absent from both these matches, India never had a total that was big enough to defend.
Against Pakistan, Kohlii rescued India with a fighting half-century but in the next match, the Indian captain succumbed to pressure after batsmen before him had failed to provide a strong start. Kohlii later lamented that Indian batsmen were not brave enough against New Zealand, but the problem ran deeper. In a shocking turn of events, India had failed to get even a single boundary in the over 7-15 during their first innings, something that led to the eventual downfall against New Zealand who won with plenty of overs to spare.
With a minimum of three matches left for India to play and a string of changes in captaincy and coaching staff set to take place after the end of the tournament, the team is presented with an opportunity to iron out some of the flaws that have emerged suddenly.
Rahul and R Sharma both have not made the runs they are known for, Hardik Pandya is not as aggressive anymore with the bat, and Indian fast bowlers are looking jaded and tired after plenty of cricket over the last 4-5 months. It remains to be seen if the team continues to back the inexperienced Varun Chakravarthy against Ravichandran Ashwin.
For Afghanistan, it will not be wrong to feel that this is their best chance to record their first-ever victory against India given that they have plenty of players who have tailored their game according to the need of the format. Afghanistan also carry a lot of thread with the ball in the form of Rashid and Mujeeb. Hazratullah Zazai is due a big score and so are the likes of Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Nabi.
The bilateral history in global tournaments will have no bearing on this contest since these two teams last met in 2012 after their maiden meeting in the Caribbean in 2010. For what it is worth, India emerged victorious in both these matches and the same outcome will be expected on Wednesday evening from Kohlii’s team.
