Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra expects Afghanistan’s batting to let them down against India in the Super 8 stage at Barbados on Thursday. The renowned commentator feels Afghanistan’s bowling is their stronger suit but their batting could lead to their downfall.
After coming up with comprehensive wins against Uganda, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, the Afghan team suffered a massive loss of 104 runs against the West Indies in their last group-stage match. While chasing a huge total of 219, the Rashid Khan-led team was bundled out for a paltry score of 114 as none of their batters could go past the 40-run mark.
“It’s an interesting team. I feel this team’s bowling is decent but their batting definitely lets them down, and I expect their batting to let them down in this match as well. That’s why I am saying India will win this match,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The former KKR player feels Afghanistan lacks batting depth and are over-reliant on the shoulders of their openers – Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
“Slight weaknesses are seen in this team’s batting. After both openers, Gulbadin Naib was sent up the order. He even did well in one match. Then Karim Janat comes in batting. I don’t see that much might in batting. It looks okay, okay to me,” Chopra observed.
Afghanistan has a solid bowling attack as they have bowlers like Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
“This team’s bowling is very good. They have Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Mujeeb (Ur Rahman) is not there but they have Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq. It’s a very good bowling attack. So this team is trying to progress based on their bowling attack and they will try that only,” he noted in the same video.
Chopra reckons the team winning the toss will be in a dilemma whether to bat first or bowl. The Barbados ground favors the team batting first.
“Barbados has a very interesting record. It’s strange that teams batting first have won more games. Generally, teams batting second win in T20 cricket but here teams batting first have won,” Chopra reasoned.
“When Australia scored 201 here, it was the third-highest total in this ground’s history, and they won while batting first. So should you bat first after winning the toss? The Indian and Afghanistan teams will definitely ask that question to themselves. I don’t know what will be the answer to that question,” he added.
India will begin their Super 8 campaign against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday.
