T20 World Cup 2024: India eyeing Afghanistan’s scalp

Barbados: Afghanistan have never beaten India in a Twenty20 International, but they have come very close.

This was a few months ago, when Afghanistan pushed India to the second Super Over before falling short at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Till then, India had beaten them quite convincingly in this format.

These are signs that the former placeholders, once boys in the men’s table, are now here as the real deal, and India should be so worried as they face them in the opening match of the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

Both sides have three matches each at this stage before they can stake their claim in the semi-finals, so every win matters, especially if there is reason to believe rain could hamper the progress of some matches.

This is the ‘wet season’ in the Caribbean, and while there has been only one stoppage in the league stage so far, there have been persistent spells of sharp rain since India arrived here a few days ago.

It’s all quite a swim compared to what was set out for them in the United States of America about a week ago, so that’s reassuring, but now is not the time to indulge in Barbadian hospitality. India will play three matches over the next four days in a schedule that left even India captain Rohit Sharma baffled.

“Why can’t it be just like the World Cup for the Over-50s?! Simple and to the point,” he said casually during training in India on Tuesday. ‘This is, year, too tiring. But either way, we have no choice, and we have no time for complaints. Afghanistan is a serious matter.”

He is right. After all, he scored a 69-ball unbeaten 121 in their previous run-in and still only just managed to get away with the match.

So it is likely that India will not interfere much with the combination. The only plausible change could come in the form of Kuldeep Yadav replacing one of the pacers as these pitches are conducive to turns.

And since this is the kind of turn that is slow and arduous, the plethora of spinners on the Afghan front, Rashid Khan on the front, will be excited.

It won’t be easy for the Indian batters to play through the line, but they couldn’t do that during the American leg, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. In any case, the consistency in bouncing makes them feel a little more at home.

Afghanistan’s batting is likely to be their weak link in the match, but Rahmanullah Gurbaz is topping the scoring charts and Ibrahim Zadran is dancing in a purple patch, so that allays some of those concerns.

There are not many such concerns on the Indian side. Of course, there’s the not-so-insignificant part about execution and adapting to the conditions and so on, but this Indian team is packed with purpose.

They have enough talent in their ranks to make immediate changes and not feel the void. That is a characteristic that they also showed during the World Cup for the over-50s.

But here’s the thing. For all their excellence and flexible combinations, that one day, on that last day against Australia, they didn’t fire. There went another title.

That day could be Thursday this time. That doesn’t mean the end of the road to the title, but it will certainly make it more difficult. That thought alone should save them from complacency, especially against a team that fights and plays like there aren’t enough tomorrows.

Teams (probable): Teams (probable): India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Surakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj/ Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Jenat, Rashid Khan (captain), Noor Ahmed, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.