Team India will travel to Delhi to face Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley stadium for their second ODI fixture of the ICC World Cup 2023.
Team India will travel to Delhi to face Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley stadium for their second ODI fixture of the ICC World Cup 2023. The men in blue are heading into the match at the back of a thumping victory against Australia. Added to that, the chase was orchestrated by none other than India’s chase master, Virat Kohli. Kohli was assisted ably by KL Rahul who missed his century by 3 runs. However, a main concern will be the form of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. With the illness of Gill, India is already short of options at the top. Added to that is the form that the make-shift opener Ishan Kishan displayed. India was tattering at 2 runs for 3 wickets with Iyer, Sharma and Kishan all going for a golden duck.
Afghanistan on the other hand is coming after being beaten by Bangladesh fair and square. For Afghanistan, apart from Rahmanullah Gurbaz none of the Afghani batsmen look convincing. Naturally, for Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi the main area of concern will be the batting department. However, the bowling unit looks a little settled with the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman into the fray.
Ashwin’s inclusion in India’s ODI team came as a shock to many cricket supporters and fans around. An injury to Axar Patel prompted the selectors to include Ashwin as a replacement. Nevertheless, the veteran delivered his performances to justify his position. Ashwin played an important role in the side’s thumping victory against the Aussies. The off-spinner had conceded 34 runs from 10 overs and scalped the prized wicket of Cameroon Green. As soon as Axar got injured, Ashwin and Washington Sundar’s names were floated as potential replacements. However, it was the senior off-spinner who got the nod. The selection of Ashwin also makes sense given that he has played in Chennai for a long time during different phases of his career.
“It was more like a Mayday call, I was chilling at home, played a couple of club games but Rohit and Rahul [Dravid] had told me that if there is a situation we will come back to you, I just told them jokingly that hope you never come back to me [smiles],” Ashwin said in a chat on Star Sports after the conclusion of the match against Australia in Chepauk.
After delivering a promising and positive result, Ashwin will be expected to repeat the performance against Afghanistan. The Arun Jaitley stadium has offered turn traditionally due to its dry nature. Naturally, the spin trio of India might feature again for the men in blue.
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