CWC 2023: India vs Afghanistan match preview

During the only previous India-Afghanistan face-off in the ICC Cricket World Cup, in 2019, Afghanistan were inches away from causing an upset. They were well on course to chase India’s target of 225 before Mohammad Shami came to the rescue for the hosts with a hat-trick.

India are high in spirit after winning a close contest against Australia in Chennai. Reeling at 2-3 while chasing 200, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul steadied the ship with a 165-run partnership. Though the stadium has favoured slower bowlers traditionally, the highest World Cup total was posted by South Africa a few days back at this ground, against Sri Lanka, with Aiden Markram hitting the fastest World Cup century ever. Keeping the belter of New Delhi in mind, India might bring in Shami in the eleven as an extra pacer.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan, who lost their previous match against Bangladesh, would like the spin twins of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan to fire. With a top-loaded batting lineup, their chances rest heavily on the opening duo of Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

IND vs AFG fantasy tips

# Virat Kohli played a crucial knock in the last game against Australia and has a strong record against Afghanistan. From one ODI and two T20Is against the Afghans, Kohli has scored one century and two half-centuries.

# Rohit Sharma has been dismissed five times against left-arm pace since 2022 in ODIs with an average of 23.2. It will be better to avoid picking him.

# Shreyas Iyer might have got out for a duck vs Australia, but his spin prowess – avg 69.8, SR 105.1 – plus his good record against Rashid Khan – 83 runs at an average of 41.5 in the IPL, makes him the ideal candidate to score runs in the middle overs against the spin trio of AFG.

# Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are Afghanistan’s two main bets with the bat at the top of the order. They have two 200-run record partnerships in 2023.

# Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be key with the ball, particularly the latter since he bowls with the new ball and the Indian top order can be susceptible against spin early on.

India vs Afghanistan: World Cup predicted 11

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq.

IND vs AFG: World Cup 2023 Dream11 team

Wicketkeepers: KL Rahul, Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Batters: Ibrahim Zadran, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer

All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jasprit Bumrah

Captaincy options: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli

Potential swaps: Mohammed Siraj for Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Nabi for Hardik Pandya.