Afghanistan take on India in the first of a three-match T20I series, to be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi on Sunday, September 13. India come into this series after a 3-0 whitewash over Zimbabwe away from home, but not before they suffered 0-2 and 0-4 series losses to Ireland and England, respectively. After VVS Laxman took over as head coach for the Zimbabwe tour, the Indians managed to turn things around in dramatic fashion. This time, too, they will have to be aware of the threat posed by the Afghanistanis, even though regular coach Gautam Gambhir is back at the helm.
Afghanistan have several T20 specialists in their ranks, including Azmatullah Omarzai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, both of whom have extensive knowledge of Indian conditions. Leg-spin bowling all-rounder Rashid Khan is another player who can turn the tables on the Indians, after having played ten seasons in the Indian Premier League. The Afghans will also be helped by Mohammad Nabi, a veteran in the sport who continues to command respect with his all-round abilities. Captain Ibrahim Zadran, therefore, has several players he can turn to in times of distress.
New India captain Shreyas Iyer did not get his tenure off to a good start after successive whitewashes to Ireland and England, but the 3-0 win over Zimbabwe will do his morale a world of good. India have named several youngsters in their squad, including opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and seamer Yash Thakur (as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana). However, the team also has experienced players such as Sanju Samson, Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah in the mix. The latter’s participation is still doubtful as he is recovering from an injury. If he is declared fit, the Afghans will have a tough time scoring runs at the death.
Predicted Teams
AFG: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq.
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Yash Thakur, Arshdeep Singh.
Key Players
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (AFG): Mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be the trump card for Afghanistan in this series. Although he has played a lot of cricket in the IPL and is therefore well known to the Indians, Rahman has quite a few tricks up his sleeve that no one is quite aware of. Rahman’s greatest ability is to get the ball to skid off the surface, especially when bowling under lights. He conceals his release point and forces batters to pick him up only after the ball is pitched, which is rather difficult.
Ishan Kishan (IND): Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, slotted to bat at number three for the Indians, will be one of the toughest players to get the better of. Kishan recently scored 350 runs across both innings of the Duleep Trophy final. This means that he is in excellent form. The southpaw is known for getting underneath wide deliveries in order to loft them, either over the cover or mid-off fielders. The Jharkhand player is also extremely sharp when playing the square cut or pull.
Match Prediction
It will be a tussle between these sides given the wealth of experience both have. Afghanistan, the designated hosts for this series, have a lot of ammunition in their arsenal to go with the experience provided by Nabi and Rashid. India, on the other hand, have invested largely in youth. They should be able to see their opponents off, primarily because of the depth in their batting order. The likes of Shivam Dube and Axar Patel offer some much-needed lower-order heft to Gambhir’s side. India are expected to win thanks to their better depth in quality.
