The hosts Team India will clash with Afghanistan at Delhi in the 9th Match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. India have had a victorious start to their world cup campaign in a good match against Australia while Afghanistan suffered a defeat against Bangladesh. Following is the India vs Afghanistan today match preview of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
India vs Afghanistan Preview
India began their World Cup 2023 campaign by defeating Australia at Chennai. The conditions in Chennai were much different though. Delhi in fact will suit India more. Previously it was thought that Delhi’s pitch is on the slower side and we had only seen 300+ scores in ODIs twice at Delhi before this world cup. After South Africa vs Sri Lanka of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Delhi, our thoughts about the pitch of Delhi have been changed.
754 runs were scored in both innings of the South Africa vs Sri Lanka clash at Delhi in this year’s world cup earlier. This is the highest aggregate in a world cup match. Afghanistan can be happy and can be worried on playing at Delhi. They can be happy that playing on a good batting surface might bring their batters back in rhythm. While they can be worried about the fact that they will have to bowl here against India, who has one of the finest batting lineups in this tournament.
Team India, based on their recent record and home advantage will begin this game as favorites. If Afghanistan want to create an upset, they will have to bowl extra-ordinarily well and they will have to give more than 100% with the bat too.
India Expected Playing XI
India are unlikely to make a change. They can leave out Ashwin and get in Thakur to try out a different combination as the track does not offer much help for the spinners, but Ashwin did well in the first game. Shubman Gill will continue to sit out due to his dengue fever.
Probable Lineup: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin/Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
Afghanistan Expected Playing XI
Afghanistan can make a brave call and leave out Rashid Khan for Noor Ahmed. The variety that Noor Ahmed offers is brilliant. Moreover, Rashid Khan has been very poor with the ball in ODI cricket lately and on a flat deck like Delhi, Afghanistan need something special so they can make a bold call.
Probable Lineup: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan/Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
India vs Afghanistan Head to Head Record
Afghanistan and India have met only once in ODI World Cup history with India winning that encounter. Overall, both sides have played 3 ODIs against each other with India winning 2 and one ending in a surprising tie.
Players to Watch-Out For
For team India, Lokesh Rahul and Virat Kohli remain their biggest strength in this competition. Both pulled off a heroic feat against Australia. They rescued team India from 2-3 to 167-4 and eventually India won that game. Rahul’s 97* and Kohli’s 85 in the game against Australia have given them immense confidence and Afghanistan better come prepared for them.
With the ball, on the tracks of Delhi, pacers might do something in the initial overs. Mohammad Siraj remains key here for India. He bowled extremely well against Australia too in the initial overs, and his early movement with the ball can damage Afghanistan’s top order.
For Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz remains key. Gurbaz scored 47 against Bangladesh and showed that he is in good nick. He also has 423 runs this year in ODI cricket. The only man with more runs than Gurbaz for Afghanistan in ODIs this year is Ibrahim Zadran. Zadran has 500 runs at an average of 45 in ODIs this year. He needs to bring his A-game too.
With the ball, more than spinners, Fazlhaq Farooqi will be key on this track. Farooqi has 19 wickets in ODIs since 2022 (third highest). If Farooqi gives Afghanistan early wickets, then things can be good for Afghanistan.
India vs Afghanistan Toss Prediction
India is likely to win the toss and they will probably want to bat first here.
Afghanistan vs India Match Prediction
India will begin as favorites with a 70% chance to win this game while 30% chances lie with Afghanistan.
