Match Details:
Match: India vs Afghanistan
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Date & Time: 3 November 2021 @7:30pm IST
Live and stream: Star Sports Network and Hotstar.
Overview:
After back-to-back losses to Pakistan and New Zealand, India’s hope of qualifying for the semi-final hangs on a thread. Not just the losses their margin has hurt them too, as their NRR currently is -1.609. They have lost both the tosses, their opening stand failed both the times and their bowling looks toothless too. The only relief for them is the fact that with each progressing game, they would get a weaker opponent than their previous thanks to the fixture.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, looks much more in a comfortable position. They have not just won 2 of their 3 matches so far, they have given a very tight competition to their group topper Pakistan but the challenge begins for them now as their remaining 2 matches are against India and New Zealand and they need to win atleast 1, if not both to qualify.
Qualification Scenario:
India: Firstly, India will have to win all 3 of their remaining matches, that too by huge margins. After acquiring a high NRR, they will have to hope for Afghanistan to beat New Zealand to ensure both the sides end the group stage with 6 points each and India who themselves would be on 6 points, could qualify through a virtue of high NRR.
Afghanistan: They will have to defeat New Zealand at all costs as failing to beat them would mean New Zealand have 4 wins in the group stage (Assuming New Zealand can win against both Namibia and Scotland). If they win against India too, they will be directly through.
Team News:
India: Suryakumar Yadav could come back replacing Ishan Kishan, if he is fit again. Even if Ishan plays, it is highly unlikely that he will open since they would prefer to go back to their original opening combination of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. India also might bring in their most experienced spinner Ashwin in place of Mohammed Shami.
Expected XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Suryakumar Yadav/ Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Afghanistan: Expect a few changes from the side. With Asghar Afghan already retired and Rahmanullah Gurbaz injured his right arm while going for a catch, Usman Ghani and Hashmatullah Shahidi should find a place in the team. Also, if Mujeeb Ur Rahman is fit again, Hamid Hassan or Karim Janat will have to make way.
Expected XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Usman Ghani, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (C), Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan
Pitch Report:
The pitch is expected to favour the spinners. Batting might not be too difficult here though. Ideally, the team winning the toss should opt to chase as batting becomes easier in the second innings with the dew factor, but India is likely to be the chasing side tonight regardless of the toss as Afghanistan likes to bat first while India prefers chasing.
Fun Facts:
If India fails to make it to the semi-final, this would the first time that India will fail to progress from the first stage in T20 World Cup history. They have Won the Trophy, Lost the Final and Lost the Semi-Final once each and reached the Super 8 thrice, in the 6 editions before. Sadly, this is the first and the final time Virat Kohli has led India in a T20 World Cup.
Both the sides have batted first in all their matches so far. The only difference is that Afghanistan won all their tosses and chose to bat first themselves; while India have lost both their tosses and made to bat first.
The last 2 times India faced Afghanistan in multi-nation tournaments (Asia Cup 2018 and World Cup 2019), Afghanistan have given a very tough fight to India - The 2018 Asia Cup encounter, which was also Dhoni’s 200th ODI and the last ever international game as a captain, resulted in a tie as Jadeja failed to chase down 7 runs in the final over. The World Cup 2019 game, in which Afghanistan was too close to clinch their first win in a World Cup against a full member nation and they needed just 24 off 18 but Shami’s hat-trick in the final over shattered their chances.
This will be Rohit Sharma’s 400th inning in international cricket.
Hardik Pandya has struck 30 sixes, 30 fours and has picked 30 catches in T20Is.
Dream XI:
