In a desperate situation, India is preparing to face spirited Afghanistan in a must-see Group 2 Super 12 match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. India’s T20 World Cup campaign has derailed after two devastating defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand.
Well, as fate will, India will have to win all three games against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia and then depend on the results of other teams to qualify for the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
On the flip side, Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan saw sweeping wins over Scotland and Namibia, keeping Pakistan on the edge for the most part before Asif Ali won the game with four sixes in one over.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman missed the group game against Namibia due to injury. However, if he’s fit, Mujeeb is likely to find a place in Afghanistan’s playing XI, considering Indian thugs have fought spinners in the last two games.
Even India’s hit coach Vikram Rathour emphasized that the biggest challenge facing the Indian thugs will be the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.
“They are a good team and they did well. The challenge will be the weirdos. And if we can reach our potential we have an enormous, talented group of players, we should be fine,” Vikram Rathour told reporters.
IND vs AFG: Recap of the CWC 2019 Thriller
It’s important to remember that the last time these two teams met at an ICC World Cup in 2019, Afghanistan gave India a real scare – their batsmen were brave and fought to the end. Kohli’s team needed a hat trick from Mohammad Shami to score a win in eleven runs in the thriller game against Afghanistan in the fifth game of the 2019 World Cricket Championship. After an average performance by their batsmen, India’s bowlers rallied to defend 224 and keep Afghanistan from creating one of the biggest surprises at the World Cup.
Afghanistan was sensational with the ball as they gave very little away for free in the 2019 thriller in England while squeezing Indian unity with spin. Afghanistan had used six bowlers and Mujeeb gave away 26 in ten overs and Nabi 33 in nine. Before this game, India hadn’t lost a single wicket at this World Cup, but 5 wickets fell to spinners against Afghanistan.
This is not the first time the Afghan side has managed to scare India. 9 years ago, in 2012, the team led by MS Dhoni had won 23 runs when the Afghans attempted a skid attempt to narrow India to 159 before Mohammad Shahzad, Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Nabi hunted with courage but R Ashwin dismissed the latter for a 17-ball 31 to end the chase.
Afghan Spin Challenge
Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were brilliant with the white ball on UAE slow surfaces and given the battle of the Indian thugs against Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Ish Sodhi and Mitchel Santner, it will be another trial of spin for the Virat Kohli-led side .
Afghanistan wants to use all of its might and the freelance experience of Rashid and Nabi T20 to insult the Indian injury. Not to mention, Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman blew Scotland away reminding them that they can no longer be taken for granted by the top teams.
If Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gubaz and Najibullah Zadran can crack the ball against India, the world-class weirdos in Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-Ur Rahman will make Afghanistan a tough team on a track in Abu Dhabi.
एक टिप्पणी भेजें