T20 World Cup: We have never lost to Afghanistan, but these 5 ‘Kabuliwalas’ can spoil the game, this is India’s first match in Super-8

New Delhi. With the end of the group matches of T20 World Cup 2024, the teams that reached the Super 8 have started planning their future strategy. Team India, which reached the next round by topping Group ‘A’, has to play its first match against Afghanistan in Bridgetown on June 20. The next two matches of the Super 8 of the ‘Rohit Sharma Brigade’ are to be held against Bangladesh on June 22 at North Sound and against Australia on June 24 at Grass Islet.

Looking at the previous record of Team India in the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan, many fans are considering the first match to be easy, but in reality it is not so. It is true that in the 3 matches so far in the T20 World Cup, the Afghan team has never been able to beat Team India, but the current team cannot be underestimated in any way. The Afghan team has become a strong ODI and T20 team today due to its fighting ability. If we look at the performance so far in the World Cup 2023 and the current T20 World Cup, it would be foolish to take Rashid Khan’s team lightly. The team is balanced in both batting and bowling and some of its players are in top form.

One more thing, the role of spinners is likely to be important on the slow wickets of West Indies and Afghanistan has probably the best spin attack in the world at present in the form of Rashid Khan, Mujibur Rahman, ‘Chinaman’ Noor Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi. Apart from this, all-rounders like Nabi, Gulbadin and Rashid give balance to the team. It is important for Team India to start the Super 8 with a win in positive mode. For this, apart from playing with its strength, it will have to make a strategy against every player of the opposition team.

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Let’s take a look at those Afghan ‘fighters’ who can pose a threat to Team India in the first match of Super 8.

1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz : This 22-year-old aggressive batsman is considered to be the future star of Afghanistan. Gurbaz has become the need of the team as a wicketkeeper batsman. In the four matches of the current tournament, he/she has scored the highest 167 runs with the help of 2 half-centuries. Natural stroke player Gurbaz is adept at hitting fours and sixes. Gurbaz, who has scored runs at an average of 41.75 and a strike rate of 150.45 in the T20 World Cup so far, has also shown his/her flair in the ODI World Cup 2023 by scoring 280 runs at an average of 31.11 and a strike rate of 98.93. he/she failed with the bat in the last two matches against Papua New Guinea and West Indies, he/she will be desperate to make up for it in the Super 8 matches. India will have to come up with an effective strategy against natural stroke player Gurbaz.

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2. Ibrahim Zadran : Opening the innings with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Zadran has made two century partnerships in this World Cup. he/she can change the gear of batting as per the need. he/she has compensated for the absence of aggressive opener Shahzad. his/her opening pair with Gurbaz has given the team a good start in many matches. In the current World Cup, Afghanistan’s number two batsman Zadran has scored 152 runs in four matches at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 124.59. he/she is confident of taking this success forward in the Super 8 round.

3. Fazalhaq Farooqi : he/she emerged as a sensation in this T20 World Cup. This 23-year-old left-arm bowler does not have high speed of balls but is giving a tough test to the batsmen with his/her accurate line-length and variations. So far, he/she has taken the most 12 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 6.66 and economy of 5.58, which includes the performance of five wickets in one innings and four wickets in one. The overall average of T20I is 18.87 and economy is 6.62 which reflects his/her bowling skills. In the last group match against West Indies, despite giving 38 runs in 4 overs, he/she did not get any wicket. In such a situation, a narrative is being created that Farooqui performed best against a weak team, the challenge in Super 8 is to prove this notion wrong.

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4. Rashid Khan : he/she is counted among the best spinners in the T20 format. This right-handed wrist spinner is also the captain of the Afghan team in the T20 World Cup 2024. he/she is an expert in making batsmen ‘victims’ with his/her fast balls. he/she is capable of changing the course of the match in a spell of 4 overs. Big batsmen get fooled in ‘reading’ Rashid’s googly. he/she has taken 6 wickets in 4 matches of the current tournament with an average performance but is capable of doing wonders in bowling at any time. he/she has taken 144 wickets in 89 T20Is at an average of 14.36 and economy of 6.07. In this format, only Tim Southee and Shakib-al-Hasan have taken more wickets than Rashid. However, Rashid’s record is much better than both of them. he/she is the biggest threat to Team India in bowling. he/she is also useful as a hard-hitting batsman in the lower order.

5. Mohammad Nabi : 39-year-old all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is in the last phase of his/her cricket career but his/her enthusiasm and agility on the field are worth seeing. Apart from scoring 2140 runs with the help of 6 half-centuries in 125 T20Is, 95 wickets show his/her all-round ability. Indian fans will still remember the India vs Afghanistan match of World Cup (ODI) 2019 when Nabi, after taking two wickets, played an innings of 52 runs in 55 balls and brought the Indian team to the brink of defeat. In the decisive moments, Shami took three wickets including Nabi in consecutive balls and gave India an 11-run victory. Apart from Nabi, Gulbadin Naib can make a difference in the match. 33-year-old Gulbadin is a middle-order batsman and medium-pace bowler. he/she has scored 60 runs with a top score of 49* in 4 matches of the current World Cup and has also taken 2 wickets.

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