20-20 World Cup: India vs Afghanistan – Preview, Playing XI, Streaming Details and updates

India have had a dismaying outing in the 20-20 World Cup so far. The team has lost both their matches. In their opening fixture against Pakistan, the team faced a loss by ten wickets as the Men in Green broke India’s 12-match winning streak in global events. India wasn’t able to bring a shift in their fortune against New Zealand as well.

The Kiwis dominated the match by clinching early wickets. India’s batting lineup yet again experienced a collapse as the team could manage just 110 runs. In the last game, Ishan Kishan, who replaced Suryakumar Yadav in the side opened the innings. This pushed Rohit Sharma down the order and that did not go well with a lot of cricket on-lookers and experts.

The concern for the team has been their batting unit that has not been able to make a larger impact. If Suryakumar Yadav returns fit for this game, both he and Kishan might feature in the Playing XI, with Pandya missing out. The team’s middle-order will be tested as spinner Rashid Khan will look to dominate the proceedings.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, outplayed Scotland in their opening game before facing a defeat against Pakistan. However, even against the Babar Azam-led side they exuded some great character and had control for most part of the game. Later a quickfire knock by Asif Ali handed the Mohammad Nabi-led side a defeat.

They then registered a victory against Namibia by a massive margin of 62 runs. Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammed Shahzad’s contributions at the top order will be crucial for the team. The team’s bowling unit has been their strength. Mujeeb Ur Rahman did not feature in the last game as he is recovering from an injury.

As Afghanistan’s former skipper Asgar Afghan announced his retirement whilst the ongoing tournament, Sharafuddin Ashraf has been roped in as his replacement. With doubts over Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s availability, Ashraf might get into the playing XI for this game. Gulbadin Naib who bowls wicket to wicket and with a steady pace might also pose some serious threat to India batters.

Pitch and conditions:

The chasing teams have had an edge in Abu Dhabi. The pitch hasn’t been a great one for batting in the tournament so far. 

Weather Report:

The forecast is for clear skies and there are no possibilities of rain. 

Playing combinations for IND vs AFG Match:

India

Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya/Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy/Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah

Afghanistan

Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi (c), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Hamid Hassan, Naveen-ul-Haq

Head to Head:

Overall

Matches- 2, India – 2, Afghanistan– 0, Tied- 0

In 20-20 World Cups

Matches- 2, India – 2, Afghanistan– 0, Tied- 0

IND vs AFG Broadcast details:

Match Timings – 7:30 PM IST

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar