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IND VS AFG | Ashwin Dropped, Shardul Thakur In As India Bowl First Against Afghanistan

image-lnlgsqatIndian players against Australia (X.com)

The much-awaited India-Afghanistan World Cup 2023 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi is set to get underway and Afghan skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi has won the toss and elected to bat first. South Africa posted a huge total when they batted first on this stadium some games back and Afghanistan would be hoping to do something on those lines. They are playing the same team that played the first game against Bangladesh while India have made one big change with Ashwin missing out and Shardul Thakur slotting into playing XI.

India have started off their World Cup campaign with a clinical win against the Aussies and would be looking to continue that momentum in this game. The Afghans had a disappointing outing in their first game against Bangladesh and need to bat much better against a strong Indian side.


Here are the playing XIs of both the sides -

Afghanistan Playing XI: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq


India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Lokesh Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Talking about the Afghan unit, they rely a lot on their bowling and have world-class spin arsenal with players like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb in their ranks. The pace department also have Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen ul Haq and the contest between the latter and Virat Kohli will be quite an interesting one. Gurbaz on the batting front, need to fire while the likes of Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi will be crucial on this flat deck in Delhi. 

Here is what two captains said -

Rohit Sharma (India Captain): "We were looking to bowl first actually. We know that this is a good pitch for batting. We had a practice session yesterday as well. Last night there was plenty of dew. But I don't think it will change much. But still, it is a batting pitch, and we have to bowl really well. And then bat well.We were under pressure against Australia with early wickets. KL and Virat batted well. They were magnificent, and we take a lot of pride in our performance. It was a good game for us, and hopefully, we can replicate the same today as well. We have made one change. Ashwin misses out, and Shardul Thakur comes in." 


Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "We will bat first. Yeah, it looks like a good batting surface. If we put a good score on the board, we have the bowling to defend.Yeah, it is a good pitch and helps the batters, we need to bat well, and today, it's an opportunity. We are enjoying the tour, and this is a great time to showcase our talent. We are going with the same team."

India, on the other hand, would be hoping that their openers score runs in this game. India were in a spot of bother with three wickets down and just two runs on the board in the first game, but Virat Kohli and KL Rahul showed lot of character and skills which are great signs going forward. Let's see how the battle unfolds in the national capital of India, Delhi.