India vs Afghanistan Match Prediction | ICC WC 2023

IND vs AFG Match Prediction

India will now play Afghanistan after a convincing victory over Australia. On October 11 at 2 PM, the ninth ODI of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 will be contested at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

India’s 2023 World Cup campaign got off to a winning start against the five-time defending champions Australia. The Australian middle order was destroyed by Indian spinners, who kept them to 199 runs. The decision by Rohit Sharma to keep Mohammad Shami on the sidelines paid off as Australia lost 6 wickets thanks to Ravindra Jadeja and company. India was dealt a severe setback as a result of losing its openers on a duck. However, magnificent half-centuries from Virat Kohli (85) and KL Rahul (97*) helped India win the match by 6 wickets.

Afghanistan had dropped their opening World Cup match to Bangladesh by a margin of six wickets. Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 47 runs in the opening at-bat for Afghanistan, which went on to score 156 runs overall. Afghanistan lost 8 wickets for 44 runs in the midst of the match because they were unable to stop the Bangladeshi spinners. By dismissing both openers in the first five overs, the Afghani bowlers got off to a fast start. However, the spinners were unable to duplicate their competitors’ accomplishment.

India and Afghanistan last faced off in an ODI during the ICC World Cup in 2019. Afghanistan surprised everyone by holding India to 224 in 50 overs, nearly putting an end to their World Cup winning streak. Mohammad Shami took a hat-trick to help India win the match by 11 runs with 12 needed in the final five balls. He became the tenth bowler in the ICC World Cup to record a hat-trick.

India has two victories over Afghanistan in three ODIs, including one at the 2019 World Cup. Mohammad Shahzad scored a century (124), the only century between the two sides, in a game that ended in a tie.

SQUAD PREVIEW

India Preview

India made a significant choice to set Shami apart. Their tournament strategy may be to play three spinners. In the match against Australia, Ravindra Jadeja claimed three wickets for a total of 28. He’ll be the bowler to keep an eye on. In two games, he has seven wickets against Afghanistan. Mohammed Siraj and Jaspreet Bumrah will continue to direct the pace attack.

Ishan Kishan was chosen by India over the hurt Shubman Gill. I’m hoping he comes back for the second game. Gill, who is presently ranked second in ODIs, has struck five ODI hundreds and the same amount of half-centuries this year in 20 games. His addition will significantly improve the Indian batting lineup. When India was behind by three wickets, Virat Kohli performed an outstanding 85-ball innings. Together with KL Rahul, who was still in the game with 97 runs, he scored 165 runs. The hitter to watch out for is Kohli due of his recent form.

KL Rahul is experiencing a fantastic year. In his last 4 games, he has averaged 117. Rahul has scored 405 runs in 7 games since making a return. India is unlikely to drop to his level against Afghanistan so that he may bat. The Indian team’s all-rounders will be Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. Pandya will pose a threat to the Afghan bowling line even though he only had one wicket in the first game.

Important Players: Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma

India Predicted XI:

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

Afghanistan Preview

By losing wickets to spinners, Afghanistan’s World Cup struggles continued. Jonathan Trott, who has yet to strike the ideal mix in all areas, will be troubled by Rashid Khan’s dismal performance and the lack of depth in the bowling department. Ibrahim Zadran will start the inning off for Rahamatullah Gurbaz.

For the first wicket in the first game, both players scored 47 runs. In 12 games, Gurbaz has scored 423 runs, averaging 35.25. Zadran has scored the most runs for Afghanistan this year with 500 runs at an average of over 45, the best of all. The batter to watch out for will be him. In the opening powerplay, it will be intriguing to see how the openers deal with Bumrah and Siraj.

Afghanistan’s main issue has been a lack of batting depth for more than two years. Hasmatullah Shahidi, the captain who replaced Najibullah Zadran, struggled in the opening contest. In two games, he batted at a 10.5 batting average against India. Rahmat Shah and Zadran both have averages against India that are under 20. Shah, though, has recently played some solid ODI innings.

Against India, he can act as the anchor. Afghanistan’s star middle batter will be Mohammad Nabi. He is now the team’s best run-scorer against the opposition and has struck two half-centuries in three matches against India. In these matches, the all-rounder has also taken 5 wickets.

The presence of Rashid Khan is a further issue that Afghanistan must address. In his last 9 ODIs, Khan has taken 9 wickets. This year, his economy has also improved. Bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi will be one to keep an eye on. In 12 games, Farooqi has taken 16 wickets. Afghani bowlers have consistently shown some fight in the three games they’ve played against India to offer batsmen something to shoot for. They have claimed 18 Indian wickets in the last two one-day internationals, which has led to a tie and a loss by just 11 runs. This bowling team should rise from the ashes to give the hosts a tough fight.

Key figures include Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ibrahim Zadran, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Afghanistan’s Predicted XI:

Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Fazalhaq Farooqi are among the players who make up the Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk) team.

THE PITCH AND THE WEATHER

Weather Conditions

There will be sunshine today. There will be a 23 to 35 degree temperature range. At 9 to 11 km/h, the wind will be blowing from the west.  The Arun Jaitley Stadium’s pitch has a reputation for being batsman-friendly. It frequently provides a strong bounce and travels well to the boundary. As the game goes on, spinners may also benefit because the surface tends to deteriorate and break.

Venue Details

On October 11 at 2 PM, the ninth ODI of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 will be contested at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The stadium can hold 48000 spectators and has played host to 37 Tests, 29 ODIs, and 13 T20 Internationals. In the fourth World Cup match of 2014, South Africa defeated Sri Lanka with the highest score on the field (428). On the same ground, they also have the lowest total (99).

Toss: To Bat

The outcomes in 29 ODIs reward teams pursuing or protecting the objective equally. 14 wins have been shared thus far by both teams. But in the previous six games, the clubs have successfully protected the aim five times. In these 6 games, the average first-inning score was 291. The toss-winning team must bat first.

Winning Prediction

India will Win this Match

The odds-on favorite to win this World Cup are India. Any team finds it challenging to tackle them on their own field. They have won seven of their last ten games played at Arun Jaitley Stadium. They also have a perfect record versus Afghanistan. For the Afghan bowling assault, the Indian batting order is very formidable. Virat Kohli has been phenomenal this year, but Shubman Gill is presently ranked second in ODIs. Furthermore, Rohit Sharma is scoring like a T20 player.

Afghanistan, on the other side, has dropped 15 of their 16 ICC ODI World Cup contests. India has lost two of their last three games in Delhi, which is the only statistic that might give them some optimism.