India eye victorious start against tricky Afghanistan unit in T20I series opener

After a successful outing against South Africa where Team India went on to draw the Test and the T20I series while clinching the ODI series, the Men in Blue are all set to roll again as they brace themselves for another important fray and this time at home against Afghanistan.

With the experienced likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma back in the T20I scheme of things in the absence of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian team will be banking upon the two senior players to deliver the payload. Shubman Gill will continue to man the opening slot while all eyes will be on Rinku Singh’s credentials as a finisher, with the southpaw in sensational touch ever since his debut for India.

However, the major talking point for the Indian cricket team will be about their bowlers, with the youngsters unable to grab the attention with their performances.  With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj rested for this series, the onus of spearheading the Indian bowling unit will fall on the shoulders of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan while Kuldeep Yadav will lead the spin department.

Afghanistan will be coming into their first T20I series in India with a glimmer of hope as they have a star-studded side with their players having garnered crucial experience across various franchise leagues around the globe. Led by Ibrahim Zadran and Hazratullah Zazai in terms of power-hitting, their bowling trio of Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad and Qais Ahmad will also be trying to bolster their echelons.

Venue Watch:

When it all started in IS Bindra Stadium, the surface was pretty fast and was an absolute boon to the fast bowlers. But much to the woes of time, it has turned into a batting friendly track. The surface offers good carry and bounce while promising an average score of 180 and over. From the nine T20Is played at the venue, five of them have been won batting first while four have been won chasing.

Head to Head

Matches played: 5

India – 4

Afghanistan - 0

Match Details:

Match – India vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I

Venue: IS Bindra Stadium, Punjab

Date: 11th January, 2024

Time: 7:00 PM

Squads:

India:  Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib.