India vs Afghanistan, Match 9
ICC World Cup, 11 October, 2023, 2 PM IST, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
India and Afghanistan will lock horns against each other in the ninth game of the ongoing World Cup. The teams have got off to contrasting starts with India beating five-time champions Australia by six wickets in their opening encounter, while Afghanistan went down rather meekly to Asian rivals Bangladesh in their opener.
India vs Afganistan is set to be played in Delhi, the venue that hosted the record-breaking South Africa vs Sri Lanka encounter. It remains to be seen if the fixture will be as high-scoring.
Meanwhile, India will be confident after a commanding win over Australia. However, it took a massive effort from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli for them to recover from being 2-3 at one stage. But overall, the team will be well-versed to deal with tougher situations in the upcoming matches.
Read also: India vs Afghanistan head to head
However, Afghanistan have very little option but to up their game against a very strong Indian outfit. They were bundled out for just 156 runs against Bangladesh and batting has to come good to challenge the hosts. With the ball too, the entire unit has to click to keep the Men in Blue in check.
The hosts are certainly the favourites in the India vs Afghanistan prediction but the latter side had given India a run for their money in the 2019 World Cup and will be hoping to do the same.
Team Form, Last 5 Matches for India: W-L-W-W-W
Team Form, Last 5 Matches for Afghanistan: L-L-L-L-L
Contents
India vs Afghanistan Match Preview
India
India’s move to go with Ravichandran Ashwin as the third spinner worked wonders at the Chepauk. But with Delhi’s pitch expected to be flat, it will be interesting to see if they opt for an extra seamer in Shardul Thakur to take wickets and save runs.
The hosts are certainly unlikely to make any other changes to their line-up unless Shubman Gill completely recovers from dengue.
If he doesn’t, then Ishan Kishan will have to show patience at the top while the skipper Rohit will also be keen to spend some time on the field. Shreyas Iyer has to control his aggression early on in the innings while the heroes of the last match, Kohli and Rahul, won’t be worried much after a terrific outing.
With the ball, Hardik looked rusty and wasn’t at his best. Hence, the team management will be hoping for a good showing from the all-rounder this time around, whether scoring runs or taking wickets.
Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter: Rohit Sharma
Probable Best Bowler: Jasprit Bumrah
Probable Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan/Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Ravi Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan lost their recent encounter against Bangladesh. But they are unlikely to make many changes only after a loss in the opening game. However, the players are unlikely to be dropped after a lone failure The captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has to step up first along with the rest of the batters who were really poor in the previous game.
The likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah have to make sure that they hold one end up as well and not throw away starts. Even with the ball, there should be variety, especially in the pace bowling attack that lacks the bite. However, with Naveen-ul-Haq in the side, the Afghanistan management will be looking forward to him playing a key role.
Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter: Ibrahim Zadran
Probable Best Bowler: Rashid Khan
Probable Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C). Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad/Abdul Rahman
Pitch Report and Expected Weather Conditions for India vs Afghanistan
The surface in Delhi seems to be the featherbed for the batters. South Africa pummelled 428 runs against Sri Lanka here while the chasing side reached 326 runs in response. Will it be the same surface on offer or a different pitch, it remains to be seen. If the pitch is flat, then we are certainly in for a massive show.
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi ODI Records
Total Matches: 29
Match Won batting first: 14
Match won bowling first: 14
Average 1st innings score: 230
Average 2nd innings score: 207
Expected weather condition: The good news is that there's zero chance of rain in this match. The bad news is, it will be hot, really hot. Wednesday will see a high of 35 Degrees Celsius, meaning whoever is batting in the first innings will be getting a sweat on. The temperature will drop across the afternoon, with a low of 22 forecast, meaning the back end of this match should be played in much more comfortable conditions.
India vs Afghanistan Dream11 Match Prediction
Wicket-keepers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan
Batters: Ibrahim Zadran, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli , Shreyas Iyer
All-rounders: Mohammad Nabi,
Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav
Recommended Captain: Virat Kohli
Recommended Vice-captain: Jasprit Bumrah
There are very good options in Gurbaz, Rahul and Kishan in the wicketkeeper’s section. While Gurbaz and Rahul are coming on the back of runs in recent times, Kishan has played quite a few tournaments and will be confident of making amends.
Among batters, Ibrahim, Rahmat are supremely talented with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who more or less thrive in tricky situations. Nabi and Rashid Khan are must picks from Afghanistan side while after picking as many as top five India batters, there is room only for two bowlers and those should be Bumrah and Kuldeep. Both are wicket-takers and can turn the game on their heads.
India vs Afghanistan win Dream11 prediction: India to win
India and Afghanistan last faced each other four years ago in the 2019 World Cup. India are clear favourites to win this match in our Dream11 prediction but Afghanistan have stretched India a far way whenever the two sides have locked horns. So, the hosts will have to be careful in terms of taking their opposition lightly.
