India vs Afghanistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Match: Key Players and Battles to watch out for

India and Afghanistan are set to battle it out in an exciting match on the 22^nd of June, 2019 at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton. India are looking good, having won all their matches so far while Afghanistan will be looking to cause a major upset en route towards climbing up in the standings.

Head to Head–

India and Afghanistan have never met in the World Cup although the teams have played 2 ODIs out of which India have won 1 and one match has been tied.

Team India Advantages

The entire Indian team is working as a well-oiled machine. Fielding is their biggest strength over Afghanistan along with their bowling unit which has the reliable Jasprit Bumrah and the outstanding duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya have also risen to the occasion in the last game against Pakistan. If Bhuvneshwar Kumar recovers from his injury and plays in this match, he will be a potent threat. If not, Mohammad Shami is always a good pace bowler to have in the team.

The Indian top three is sorted with KL Rahul finding form in the last match and Rohit Sharma in the form of his life, having scored two centuries in three games so far. Virat Kohli is also in fine form while the middle order lineup of Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav can all make a difference whenever required.

Team Afghanistan Advantages

 The Afghanistan team will be looking to tap into their mystery spinner Rashid Khan’s prowess. Khan lends a lot of balance to this team since he can also bat. There is Captain Gulbadin Naib who is a strong player and so is Mohammad Nabi who has troubled many in the IPL. Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Samiullah Shinwari along with Dawlat Zadran are also fine players who can create a stir on their day.

Battles to watch out for

Rohit Sharma vs Dawlat Zadran- Arguably Afghanistan’s most experienced campaigner with the ball, Zadran will be looking for chinks in Sharma’s armour. Sharma, on the other hand, will be looking to blast it out of the park like he has been doing. An engrossing battle indeed!

Virat Kohli vs Rashid Khan- Rashid Khan will be at his best in the middle overs and will be looking to outwit the captain who will also be looking to continue his prolific scoring while hitting a few big ones every now and then. This will truly be the clash of the titans.

Hardik Pandya vs Mujeeb Ur Rahman- Hardik Pandya seems to be India’s answer to every problem with bat or ball. On the pitch, Mujeeb will probably attempt to be his nemesis courtesy his deceptive spin while Pandya will attempt to take him on. A dose of IPL rivalry perhaps?

Jasprit Bumrah vs Asghar Afghan- Asghar Afghan will be looking for a big score in the World Cup and he will be squaring up against one of the world’s best bowlers at the moment, Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah, on the other hand, will look to scalp him early in order to lend more momentum to the Indian bowling effort.

Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal vs Mohammad Nabi- One of Afghanistan’s best all-rounders, Nabi will be looking to combat the spin threat of India’s potent spin duo in the middle overs. They will be looking to put the brakes on his free scoring and possibly castle him early on in their spells. This will definitely be a fun battle to watch out for.