Match nine of 48 in the 2023 Cricket World Cup will see the host nation India take on Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday.
India won their opening match of the competition against Australia, leaving them fifth after the first round of competition, while the visitors suffered a defeat to Bangladesh and are in seventh place.
Match preview
India are heavily fancied to win the World Cup this year, and they made the perfect start to their campaign, beating Australia by six wickets and with 52 balls to spare last week at a packed MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Undoubtedly, the best part about the Indian team's performance on the day was their bowling attack that knocked over the Aussies for 199 in the final over of the innings, led by Ravindra Jadeja, who bagged 3/28 in his 10 overs, while Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets each.
While the margin of that victory may suggest that India dominated the match, that was not the case as Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc ripped through India's top order with the new ball and had their opponents at 2/3 by the start of the third over.
However, the hosts showed why their middle order is considered one of the best in the world, as Virat Kohli and KL Rahul combined to put on a 165-run stand for the fourth wicket, which ultimately won them the game.
As a result, India have the lowest net run rate of the five sides that won their first round of matches, but against an opponent in this match that they have never lost to, the Men in Blue will almost certainly be expecting to give their run rate a bump higher.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan came into the competition as one of the biggest outsiders and got their campaign started at the HPCA Stadium, where they were beaten by Bangladesh by six wickets and with 92 balls remaining.
While the track and outfield in Dharamshala on the day was far from easy to play on, Afghanistan were outplayed on nearly every level, with only Rahmanullah Gurbaz managing a knock of any significance, scoring 47 before his side were bundled out for just 156 in the 38th over.
The bowling unit could not be criticised, though, with the likes of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi going for less than a run a ball, but with a small total to defend, the Tigers batsmen were never under any real pressure and sauntered to victory in the 35th over.
Based on their record against this opponent, Jonathan Trott's side are likely to struggle here as well, with their star batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi averaging just 10.5 against India while Najibullah Zadran and Rahmat Shah average below 20.
Still, if Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi can knock over the Indian top order early as Australia did, this could make for a much more level encounter, although that is certainly much easier said than done.
Team News
Shubman Gill will be sidelined again on Wednesday as the medical staff have not cleared the opener to travel after being diagnosed with dengue in the lead-up to the competition.
Ishan Kishan replaced Gill in the opening combination with Rohit Sharma, and while both openers, along with Shreyas Iyer, were dismissed for two runs collectively in the last match, they will likely be given one more opportunity before Rahul Dravid makes changes in personnel.
With the pitch in Delhi likely to wear and crack as the match progresses, it could suit the spin bowlers, which will also motivate the hosts to keep the three spin options of Jadeja, Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin intact for this match.
As mentioned, Afghanistan's bowling lineup did fairly well in the last match despite getting very little reward, and the combination of Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are expected to share the new ball again in this match.
After failing in the last match and considering his poor record against India, skipper Shahidi may move back down the order to five, allowing Zadran to bat in his favoured number four position.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq
Series so far
India
Match One: India won by six wickets
Australia - 199 (49.3)
India - 201/4 (41.2)
Afghanistan
Match One: Afghanistan lost by six wickets
Afghanistan - 156 (37.2)
Bangladesh - 158/4 (34.4)
We say: India to win
While India's victory over Australia was not the most convincing we have seen, they showed the depth in their squad once again, pulling off the win despite their top order being taken apart. Afghanistan have never beaten India in an ODI, and we expect the Men in Blue to claim another comfortable win this time.
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