IND vs AFG T20 World Cup Preview Afghanistan Need Strong Self Belief to Beat Favourites India

India vs Afghanistan is going to be a super exciting clash as these two sides have played brilliant  cricket so far. India have had a long break after win over USA as their next match vs Canada got  washed out. The dynamics in the Super 8s are going to be slightly different as there will be more  travel for the teams and the games will be played more regularly. This will be a small challenge  

for some of the teams.  

When I look at how India have played in this tournament, I have been very impressed with their  bowling. While their batting has not fired yet in the World Cup, their bowling has done enough  to win them key games. Unfavorable conditions for batting are a huge reason why India and  other sides have also struggled as batting units. At the same time, India must be pleased that  Suryakumar Yadav got some runs as well as Shivam Dube against USA. 

I am very impressed with Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in the World Cup. He has used the bowlers  brilliantly, especially Axar Patel. He used Axar on pitches which were more conducive to hitting  the surface hard. Axar used the turn, grip and the pace of the pitch to his advantage. Rohit opting  for Axar instead of Jadeja was a really smart move. 

That brings me to Kuldeep Yadav and I wonder how he can be used in the remaining part of the  tournament. I would like to see him play vs Afghanistan which means that Mohammed Siraj  might have to sit out. I understand that with the pitches that have been presented in India games,  the four seam options worked pretty well. India might continue with the same balance as it is  tough to predict which XI a team will play without having access to the conditions. But if it is a  slow pitch and the boundary sizes are equal then it would be a good idea to play Kuldeep.  However, if he plays, Kuldeep must take a lesson from Adil Rashid’s outing against Namibia.  Unlike Rashid who bowled too full, Kuldeep must look to bowl into the pitch as a leg-spinner,  not bowling too flighted and full as the batters can then hit through the line. It is very important  to find the right length that works for him if he plays. 

Virat Kohli has been a lookout for a big score as runs have been hard to come for batters in this  tournament. An interesting matchup will be between Kohli and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who bowls  pretty well to Kohli. Another matchup will be between Rohit vs Rashid Khan. The star Afghan  spinner has got a good record against India captain. It will be interesting to see how Afghanistan  use these two bowlers. Not to forget, Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has his weakness  against quality leg-spin bowling which may push India to play Kuldeep. India, as I mentioned  earlier as well, have plenty of reasons to play Kuldeep against Afghanistan. 

How both teams read the conditions will also hold key. Australia had scored 201 in Barbados not  so long ago. But it was a small boundary with assistance from wind which made the run-scoring easy. Assessing conditions and taking the right decisions, in terms of balance of the side and the  toss, will be crucial. 

As far as Afghanistan are concerned, the key element for them going into this game is not so  much the team they pick or how they want to play. The key for them to beat India will be their  self-belief. Afghanistan have never beaten India in T20Is. Getting over the line for the first time  at such a big stage against India is not impossible but they will need a strong mentality to go into  the game believing they can beat the Indians. 

I was working on the last game Afghanistan played against India, in Bengaluru. They had India  on the mat at 22 for 4 but then Rohit played an incredible innings to turn things around and the  game was eventually decided in the Super Over. Even without a big player like Rashid missing  in that game, they were inches away from beating India.  

Afghanistan have in-form players in shape of Farooqi and Gurbaz, the leading wicket taker and  run-scorer respectively, but it will be the self-belief which will help them register their first win.  They will be hoping that the wicket turns because that will bring in a number of their spin  options, their obvious strength. The Afghanistan players have an understanding of the Indian  players and vice-versa because of the IPL. Both of these sides know each other’s weakness and  strengths because a lot of players have played with or against each other a lot in the T20 league.  

Afghanistan’s best chance to win this game is a pretty straightforward one: Farooqi and spinners  need to make early inroads and then Rashid and other spinners need to restrict the run-scoring by  India in the middle overs. They have the potential to do that. But they need a strong self-belief to  overcome the favourites India.