Afghanistan fought back from being 63/4 at one point to setting up a target of 273 for India to chase. Jasprit Bumrah recorded figures of 4/39, which is his best in a World Cup match. Hardik Pandya meanwhile took two, including one that broke a 121-run partnership between Afghanistan captain Hashamtullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai. Curiously enough, Mohammed Siraj didn't have a very good day in the office returning wicketless and conceding 76 runs in nine overs.
That partnership between Shahidi and Omarzai did the bulk of the work for Afghanistan. Omarzai scored 62 in 69 balls before falling to Pandya whole Shahidi was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav after scoring 80 in 88.
Shahidi earlier won the toss and opted to bat against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Rohit Sharma said that he would have chosen to bowl anyhow had he won the toss. India made one change in the XI that beat Australia in their tournament opener with Ravichandran Ashwin making way for Thakur.
Eight matches have been played this far in this World Cup but none of them have really had a nail-biting finish. Wednesday's fixture between India and Afghanistan could follow the pattern, with the hosts being outright favourites on paper. However, Afghanistan are known to cause upsets in big tournaments and Rohit Sharma would wary of the threat they pose, particularly by their spinners. The Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, where the match is being played, isn't the biggest in the country and Afghanistan can make a game of it if they manage to put up a competitive total.
The Kotla is not expected to exhibit conditions similar to Chennai. In fact, the last time an ODI was played here, South Africa bludgeoned the highest World Cup total of all time of 428, and they did so against a spin-heavy Sri Lankan attack. Afghanistan's bowling attack is similar with Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi being three quality spinners, but whether it will come handy on a batting-friendly wicket such as Delhi, is anyone's guess. The ideal scenario will be for India to win the toss, bat first and dish out a batting clinic, but when have cricket matches ever been decided on perfection? Afghanistan have never been one for big tournaments, but they are a team that recently won an ODI series in Bangladesh, which India failed to on their last two visits.
Source: Hindustan Times