LONDON: Confident on back of a morale-boosting win against Pakistan, India go in the clash against Afghanistan as overwhelming favourites. Touted as tournament favourites by many with hosts England, two points is not the only thing India would eye in Southampton on Saturday.
Virat Kohli and team-management will treat the match against Afghanistan as a golden opportunity to improve India’s run-rate a great deal. A win would aid India in their quest for the top spot, while Afghanistan will be eyeing their first win of the tournament.
Virat Kohli’s men have started their World Cup campaign on a high, winning three out of their opening four games. They are yet to lose a match but were forced to share a point with New Zealand as the match was abandoned due to rain.
Afghanistan have been unable to recreate the magic they did in the ICC Men’s World Cup Qualifiers and Asia Cup last year, having faced five defeats in as many completed games so far. Inconsistent bowling and dropped chances in the field cost them dearly against England, as they were set a daunting target of 398 by the hosts. The batsmen, having batted for the full 50-overs at Old Trafford, will have to do so again, in order to pose any challenge to a strong Indian side.
Rashid Khan has not had a good World Cup so far but you count Rashid out at your own peril. He is a champion bowler who will ask tough questions and knows how to bounce back after a mauling.
INDIA LIKELY TO TINKER
Mohammed Shami is likely to replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the playing XI against Afghanistan as the latter has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury. There is some doubt over Vijay Shankar’s inclusion too, who was in pain after being hit on his toes by a Jasprit Bumrah yorker, during India’s training session on Wednesday.
In case Shankar doesn’t get fit in time, the fight for that slot will be between Pant and the seasoned Dinesh Karthik, who was team management’s original choice in the squad of 15. Being a left-hander, Pant has a big advantage over the others in the Indian team - with Dhawan out, there are not frontline left-handed batsmen in the touring party.
Hardik Pandya, whenever pushed up as the floater, has been a success while Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been rock solid behind the stumps and steady in front.
KOHLI IN FOR A RECORD
Virat Kohli has had subdued World Cup so far by his standards. Not that he hasn’t played well, but Rohit Sharma’s brilliant centuries have certainly overshadowed his performances for sure. The Indian skipper though, will have the chance to add another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest batsman to score 20,000 international runs when he takes strike against Afghanistan in their World Cup tie at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday.
Kohli currently has 19, 896 runs to his name and is just 104 runs short of the record that legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar holds together with West Indies great Brian Lara.
If Kohli manages to score 104 runs against Afghanistan, he will reach the 20,000-international run milestone in 415 innings (131 in Tests, 222 in ODIs and 62 in T20Is). Tendulkar and Lara, both had reached the milestone in 453 innings, followed by former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting who scored 20,000 runs in 468 innings.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS:
Having played their opening match here against South Africa, India would be familiar with the track. Back then, it favoured the seamers and made life difficult for batsmen on both the sides. However, on Saturday- the pitch is likely to be a belter assist batting
It is likely to remain dry in Southampton on Saturday, with almost no chances of rain. There will be sunny spells for the most part of the day with partial build up of cloud. Teams batting second have won both the completed games at the Hampshire Bowl so far.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI:
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
Afghanistan: Ikram Ali Khil, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Aftab Alam and Dawlat Zadran.
