Afghanistan (AFG) is poised to challenge India (IND) at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, inaugurating Group 1’s fixtures in the Super 8 of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday, June 20. While Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi could be Afghanistan’s(AFG) trump cards, India(IND) could counter them with Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube.
As India(IND) prepares to launch its Super 8s campaign in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Barbados, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid couldn’t have asked for a better draw for the second stage of the competition. With Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Australia in their group, the path to the semifinals should be a straightforward one. These opponents, including Australia (ranked No. 2), are positioned below India in the Twenty20 International rankings. Afghanistan (ranked No. 10) and Bangladesh (ranked No. 9) are significantly lower on the table.
IND vs AFG Previous Performances
Although both teams have garnered three victories from four matches, their standings in their respective groups diverged significantly. India ascended to the pinnacle of Group A, aided by the abandonment of their final league match against Canada due to inclement weather. Conversely, Afghanistan secured the second position in Group C, following a demoralizing 104-run defeat by the co-hosts, West Indies.
India boast a dominant record against Afghanistan in T20Is, having emerged victorious in six out of their eight encounters, with one match yielding no result and one getting tied. However, their previous clash, the final match of the bilateral series was a riveting spectacle, necessitating two Super Overs to reach a conclusion.
Given Afghanistan’s formidable form this time around, a fierce and closely contested match is anticipated. The conditions, highly conducive for the Afghans, given their potent spinners coupled with their propensity to excel in high-stakes encounters, promise an enthralling battle. India’s pace battery is something Afghanistan should be wary about, and it promises an intense battle between the Afghan openers and the new-ball pair of Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.
Afghanistan, India’s opponents at Kensington Oval on Thursday, have a reputation for being giant killers, having defeated New Zealand, a team known for consistently strong performances in ICC competitions, in the first round. The Kiwis have not survived that assault.
Afghanistan also have a better understanding of the conditions, having played all their matches in the Caribbean. In contrast, India will have their first outing in the West Indies tomorrow. Moreover, many of Afghanistan’s players have honed their skills in the IPL, where they have got an insight into India’s batting and bowling apart from handling the inherent pressure in T20 cricket
IND vs AFG Head to Head
For the record, India have never lost to Afghanistan in their eight meetings in T20Is, winning seven with one no result. Afghanistan have played India in 13 games across formats, but are yet to win one.
| Matches | 8 |
| Won by Afghanistan | 0 |
| Won by India | 6 |
| Tied | 1 |
| No Result | 1 |
| First-ever Fixture | 03/11/21 |
| Most-recent Fixture | 17/01/24 |
IND vs AFG Pitch report
The five World Cup fixtures held at the Kensington Oval have yielded markedly disparate batting outcomes: at one extreme, the contest between Oman and Namibia resulted in scores of 109 all-out and 109 for 6; contrastingly, Scotland’s rapid accumulation of 90 for 0 from 10 overs amidst intermittent showers against England stands out.
Notably, no team managed to surpass Australia’s total of 164-5 against Oman, with Australia themselves shattering their own score again. This upcoming day match will be contested on a new pitch, reputed to be the finest on the square, although a somewhat erratic weather forecast may present an additional challenge for the teams.
With the match being a day game, the dew is out of equation which largely nullifies the impact of the toss although the captain calling it right may choose to bowl first. Unlike in the US where the pitches were largely bowler-friendly, strip here should be conducive for batting. A high-scoring game can be expected with the deciding factor being how the Indian batters handle Afghanistan’s spinners. For the record, India have never lost to Afghanistan in their eight meetings in T20Is, winning seven with one no result.
Bridgetown has offered decent batting conditions, having hosted one of the three 200-plus scores seen in this tournament. The weather shouldn’t be a problem.
IND vs AFG Big picture – India vs Rashid Khan
This January, these two teams produced one of the greatest T20Is ever – one that needed two Super Overs to produce a result – and that was when they were playing less-than-full-strength teams after the series had been decided. The stakes are a lot higher now. So perhaps Afghanistan and India’s meeting in the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup 2024 will be a little less spectacle and a little more surgical.
Afghanistan possess a bowling attack capable of asking questions every over, which works out well because they have to find a way past the experience of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli early to level the playing field. With those two out of the picture, anything can happen. That’ll be Fazalhaq Farooqi’s job. His left-arm angle coupled with the ability to swing the new ball are threats to batters of even the highest quality.
If that happens – and it’s a big if – India will come under scoreboard pressure, which is best friends with Rashid Khan. The Afghanistan captain has walked into plenty of situations where the opposition has just started to wobble, and he finishes them off.
It takes a genius to beat a genius, and India are lucky to have Suryakumar Yadav, who has dominated Rashid in T20s, scoring 86 runs in 58 balls at a strike rate of 148 without being dismissed. Shivam Dube goes at a higher strike rate (155) over a smaller sample size (18 balls), but that brings into picture the other advantage that India have: left-hand batters. Rashid has not done as well against them in T20s lately. He kept them down to a strike rate of 109 in 2022 and 2023. This year, it’s up at 141.
Afghanistan’s bowling is their best strength, but India have them covered. So that means one of Afghanistan’s batters will have to have a field day.
IND vs AFG In the spotlight – Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Axar Patel
Scoring quickly against high-quality bowling requires both skill and bravery, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz has both in abundance. He scored 80 off 56 balls in a match where only two of his team-mates reached double-digits and the opposition – New Zealand – were bowled out for 75. Gurbaz hits pace at a strike rate of 150 and spin at 145 in T20 cricket, and that may very well be a function of how he doesn’t mind taking risks. Batters like that are hard to stop when it’s their day.
So much of the focus in this game will be on mystery spin. But underneath all that, happily flying under the radar, giving both tangible and intangible results is Axar Patel. His left-arm spin is all about containment, but he does that by attacking the stumps, while his batting at No. 8 gives India the confidence to hit out from ball one. Axar should also enjoy the fact that Afghanistan should have only two left-hand batters in their top eight.
IND vs AFG Vital Stats that matters
- Afghanistan have played India in 13 games across formats, but are yet to win one.
- Gurbaz (167) and Farooqi (12) are currently the highest scorer and the highest wicket-taker, respectively, in the T20 World Cup 2024
- India have not faced Rashid a lot in T20Is, but in two games, they have scored 69 runs in eight overs without losing a single wicket to him
- Rohit and Kohli are tied on 4042 T20I runs, with only Babar Azam (4145) ahead of them
- Mohammad Nabi & Ravindra Jadeja are the only survivors from the two teams’ previous meeting in the Caribbean.
- Kohli has been dismissed for a golden duck twice in T20Is and both instances have come this year, one of them, incidentally, was against Afghanistan, in Bengaluru, in January. The other golden duck was recently against the USA.
- Arshdeep and Farooqi are the two leading wicket-takers among left-arm seamers in the Powerplay in T20Is since the start of 2022. In T20 WC 2024, Farooqi has seven wickets in this phase and Arshdeep four.
IND vs AFG Probable Playing 11
Afghanistan:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk.), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
India:
Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk.), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
AFG vs IND Fantasy XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk.), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk.),Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah
IND vs AFG Probable Best Performers of the match
Probable Best Batter: Virat Kohli
The Indian icon has not been in optimal form and will undoubtedly wish to swiftly put his group-stage performance behind him, having scored merely five runs across three innings. Given his lofty ambitions and remarkable mental fortitude to seize control of high-profile games, he could be anticipated to be India’s hero in their inaugural match of the Super 8s.
Probable Best Bowler: Rashid Khan
Considering the sluggish nature of the pitch at Bridgetown, it presents an ideal opportunity for the Afghan skipper to continue his exemplary performance. He could once again be expected to lead his team with a pivotal bowling spell, delivering a captain’s performance when it matters the most.
IND vs AFG Match Prediction
Scenario 1
India win the toss and opt to bowl first.
Powerplay Score: 30-40
Afghanistan: 140-160
India win the match.
Scenario 2
Afghanistan win the toss and opt to bowl first.
Powerplay Score: 40-50
India: 165-185
India win the match.