Preview and Prediction: India Vs Afganistan

India and Afghanistan square off in match 5 of the Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 stage. Both teams were defeated in their first Super 4 match. In addition, Team India has lost both Super 4 matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka and is on the verge of elimination. They will now have to beat Afghanistan by a large margin and rely on other results to go their way.

Both sides have had comparable outings thus far, and a terrific game between these two squads is expected here on Thursday. If Pakistan defeats Afghanistan, India’s participation in the Asia Cup 2022 will be over. They will survive if the opposite occurs. The Men in Blue will then have to beat Afghanistan by a large margin in order to increase their net run rate. While Rohit Sharma’s team had a six-wicket loss heading into this match, Mohammad Nabi’s side had also been defeated by Sri Lanka, and they will play Pakistan on Wednesday in their own do-or-die match.

India has won one of the four tosses in the Asia Cup 2022. Afghanistan, on the other hand, has won one of three tosses thus far in the Asia Cup 2022. Because Afghanistan has a higher toss winning percentage, they are expected to win the toss on Thursday.

India’s defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka have sparked some serious concerns in the Indian camp. Due to the unavailability of Ravindra Jadeja, India was forced to play with only three seam options against Pakistan. Avesh Khan was pulled out of the games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka because to a fever.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan is still in the race and will attempt to make a comeback against India. Their batting appears to be in good shape, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran accumulating runs at the top. Najibullah Zadran has done an excellent job as the finisher. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are expected to play important roles with the ball against India.

The surface at Dubai Cricket Stadium frequently delivers matches in the range of 160-170 and is not ideal for explosive batting. Dubai’s straight boundaries are quite short, which the batter takes full use of. There’s also some seam movement and more bounce here. On this surface, spinners have very little assistance.

Virat Kohli is the star Indian right-handed batsman who bats in the middle order. So far in this competition, he has scored 154 runs. He’ll be trying to produce another significant impact in this game. Suryakumar Yadav has accumulated 133 runs in this tournament so far and can be productive here as well. Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal both have taken four wickets and are in tight form. Similarly Ibrahim Zadran has hammered 97 runs in this series and is also good form. Rashid-Khan is an Afghan right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-break bowler. He has four wickets so far in this competition and will be a great asset for Afganistan. Mohammad Nabi is an Afghan right-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler. So far in this competition, he has scored 9 runs and taken 3 wickets. He has the ability to contribute with both the bat and the ball.

India was defeated in their first two Super Four matches, losing by five wickets to Pakistan and by six wickets to Sri Lanka. The Afghan national team’s first game in the Super Four was a loss to Sri Lanka. However India has won the last three T20Is between the two sides, and with their future in the tournament at stake they will be putting their best performance forward to win by a large margin.

We predict India wins by a large margin.

• India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Arshdeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal
• Afghanistan playing XI: Rahmanaullh Gurbaz, Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Shinwari, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazallhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb