ICC Men’s CWC 2023: Will Afghanistan be third time lucky against India in ODIs?

The ninth match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be played between Afghanistan and two-time World Cup champions India on October 11 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Head-to-Head

India and Afghanistan have played three ODIs against each other between 2014 and 2019, of which India have won two, with one match ending in a tie. These two teams have never played an ODI against each other in India. However, Afghanistan have played 14 ODIs in India since 2017, winning five of them. At the World Cups, India and Afghanistan have met just once. In 2019, India won a close match by 11 runs as they successfully defended 224 at Southampton.

Performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 so far…

India and Afghanistan have played one match each at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 so far. While India have started on a positive note by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Australia at Chennai by six wickets after somehow managing to chase 200, Afghanistan have suffered a demoralising defeat at the hands of Bangladesh by six wickets at Dharamsala after getting all out for 156.

India v Afghanistan: Squads, injury updates, playing conditions, weather, and players to watch out for

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.

Injury updates

India’s opening batter Shubman Gill, who is down with dengue did not feature in the team’s opening encounter against Australia on October 8. Gill is still recovering and is unlikely to play against Afghanistan. On the other hand, Afghanistan’s full squad will be available for selection in their upcoming game against India.

Playing conditions

Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi will host the encounter between India and Afghanistan. It will be a day night match. While Afghanistan will play their first ODI here, India have played 21 ODIs between 1982 and 2022, winning 13. The venue will host its second game of this World Cup. The previous match played here produced more than 750 runs. Expect another high scoring game.

Weather

The weather is expected to be less humid and see plenty of sunshine. The maximum temperature attained during the day will be 36 degrees Celsius. There will be no cloud cover and no chance of rain. The wind will blow from the west.

Players to watch out for

For India, KL Rahul, who won the player of the match award in his last match against Australia will grab all the attention. When he came into bat, India were struggling at 3/2. From there, he partnered with Virat Kohli and helped India pull off a great win. The 31-year-old right-handed batter scored an unbeaten 97 off 118 balls, including eight fours and two sixes. In the bowling department, left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja wreaked havoc, picking 3/28 in 10 overs, including two maidens, against Australia. Besides his bowling, he can be more than a handy batter in the lower middle order.

For Afghanistan, who had a forgettable outing against Bangladesh in their previous encounter, will look to redeem themselves. Their opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz top scored with 47 off 62 balls, including four fours and a six. The 21-year-old right-handed batter will be expected to provide a steady start again against India. Besides, all-rounder Amzatullah Omarzai’s contributions with bat and ball were noteworthy. The right-handed middle-order batter scored 22 off 20 balls, including four fours, and picked 1/9 in two overs, bowling right-arm medium pace.

Match details

Date: October 11, 2023

Time: 2:00 PM IST

Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

Live streaming: Star Sports, Hotstar

 

All the statistics are sourced from ESPN Cricinfo