ODI World Cup 2023: India vs Afghanistan - Recent Form, Team News and Probable Playing XIs

India will clash with Afghanistan as we approach the crucial stages of the ICC World Cup 2023. Their only previous meeting at the ODI World Cup, which took place in 2019, saw India emerge victorious in a low-scoring thriller thanks to Mohammed Shami’s hat-trick and half-centuries from the then-captain Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav. India defended a total of 224 runs, securing an 11-run win. On Wednesday, October 11.

Afghanistan will seek to level the score as they face the 2023 World Cup favourites at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.This match will be the second game at the venue in this year’s event. In the opening match between South Africa and Sri Lanka, the Proteas set a World Cup record by scoring 428 runs. In response, Sri Lanka struggled to seize crucial moments and lost by 102 runs.

Read More: ICC ODI World Cup 2023 Schedule

Team News (Injuries)

India: Shubman Gill, who is suffering from dengue and missed India’s tournament opener against Australia in Chennai, has been ruled out of the Afghanistan game as well. Ishan Kishan, who opened against Australia, is likely to retain his position at the top of the order for now.

Afghanistan: No concerns reported so far.

India’s Recent Form

India began their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought victory over Australia. After being asked to field first, India’s spinners, including Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravichandran Ashwin, performed impressively to restrict Australia to 199. In reply, Virat Kohli (85) and KL Rahul (97*) anchored the innings with a 165-run partnership, guiding India to victory with six wickets and 52 balls to spare.

The Afghanistan match presents an opportunity for India to learn from their mistakes against Australia and make necessary improvements, especially in the fielding department.

Afghanistan’s Recent Form

In their opening game against Bangladesh, Afghanistan suffered a batting collapse, losing eight wickets for just 45 runs. None of their batsmen managed to reach fifty runs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scored with 47. While Afghanistan removed Bangladesh’s openers cheaply, a target of 157 proved insufficient as Bangladesh secured victory with six wickets and 15.2 overs to spare.

Afghanistan needs a significant win to get their World Cup campaign on track. Senior players like Rashid Khan, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, and Mohammad Nabi are expected to step up their performance.

In the batting department, Afghanistan needs to build consistent partnerships to put pressure on India. Overall, a matured performance is required from Afghanistan.

Probable Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazal Farooqi

Read More: Astrologer who predicted the last 3 ODI World Cup winners reveals top contender for the upcoming mega event