After overcoming Australia in the campaign opener, Team India is now gearing up for their next assignment in the ICC ODI World Cup. The match against Afghanistan is slated to take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on October 11. India’s top-order struggle against new-ball pacers was once again exposed against Australia. Including captain Rohit Sharma, three batters returned to the pavilion for ducks when the hosts had to chase 200 runs on a slow surface at Chepauk. Despite the early setback, India could bounce back in the match, thanks to a composed partnership between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. The duo showed nerves of steel as they kept rotating the strike without going for any risky shots.
Kohli was dismissed for 85 runs but Rahul stuck to the crease till the end. The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten at 97 runs and whacked the winning six to help his team register a six-wicket victory. On the other hand, Afghanistan failed to make a desirable start to the World Cup. They played their opening match against Bangladesh and ended up losing it by 6 wickets. The Afghan batting unit appeared out-of-form, with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz being the only standout performer. Riding on Gurbaz’s 47-run knock, Afghanistan set a target of 157 runs, which Bangladesh chased down at ease.
Pitch Report:
Spinners are expected to have the upper hand at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium as the ground is known for providing a dry surface. Despite assisting the bowlers, the venue has hosted several high-scoring clashes, courtesy of its shorter boundary. In the previous World Cup match played in Delhi, South Africa produced a mammoth total of 428 runs against Sri Lanka. The wicket will remain the same during the match between India and Afghanistan. So we can hope for a high-scoring battle between the Asian sides.
Weather Report:
The weather in Delhi is expected to remain hot and humid on October 11. There is no chance of rain playing a spoilsport during the ODI World Cup match between India and Afghanistan. The temperature could hover around 22 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius, while the humidity is anticipated to be around 47-55 percent. The wind speed will be around 8-13 km/h during the 50-over clash.
India vs Afghanistan ICC ODI World Cup 2023 Full Squads:
India Full Squad: 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 Full Squad: 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
Comments
0 comment