Rohit Vs Farooqi, Kohli Vs Rashid; 3 Player Battles To Watch Out For In IND Vs AFG

Virat Kohli is yet to shine in T20 World Cup 2024 (AP)

India and Afghanistan will commence their respective 2024 T20 World Cup Super-Eight campaign with a match against each other on June 20. The much-awaited contest, set to be staged at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, also marks the first Group 1 match of the tournament.

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team qualified for the Super Eight by finishing at the top of the Group A points table; defeating Ireland, Pakistan and USA on their way at New York’s Nassau County Stadium. The Afghanistan, on the other, decimated Uganda, New Zealand and PNG with huge margins before a defeat to hosts West Indies prevented them a top finish on the Group C standings.

Here at OneCricket, we probe three possible player battles that can determine the fate of the contest.

India vs Afghanistan Player Battles:

Rohit Sharma vs Fazalhaq Farooqi

Indian captain and opening batter Rohit Sharma tend to struggle against left-arm new-ball fast bowlers. Even in the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup, Sharma was dismissed by left-arm seamers Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan), and Saurabh Netravalkar (USA) early in the innings.

Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi, meanwhile, has already picked up 12 wickets in the tournament and he troubled Rohit Sharma during this year’s three-match T20I series in India back in January. Farooqi’s faceoff with Sharma early in the Indian innings might well set the tone for either side for the rest of the match.

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Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Jasprit Bumrah

Attacking Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has already cracked two match-winning half-centuries this 2024 T20 World Cup against Uganda and New Zealand. In a bid to sustain his prolific run with the bat this tournament, the cricketer will be required to topple Indian paceman and in-form speedster Jasprit Bumrah. Remarkably, Bumrah has clipped six wickets this competition and delivered ‘Player of the Match’ winning performances against Ireland Pakistan.

Virat Kohli vs Rashid Khan

Desperate to find some form, Indian opener Virat Kohli will be aiming to go big against Afghanistan. However, if the legendary batter overcomes Afghanistan’s in-form new-ball attack, the cricketer will likely encounter ace spinner Rashid Khan in the middle overs.

While both Kohli and Khan have come across only a handful of times against each other in T20Is, they have had numerous faceoffs across all T20 cricket, primarily due to IPL. So far, the Indian batter has tallied 86 runs against the spinner in 69 balls, at an average of 43 and a strike-rate of 124.6.

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