India and Afghanistan are set to kick-start the Super Eight proceedings in Group 1 on Thursday (June 20) at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Though India are billed as favourites to win the clash, Afghanistan are well and truly capable of pulling off an upset based on their recent form.
Barring the game against West Indies, Afghanistan have displayed dominant performances in the tournament thus far. They suffered a major setback during the league stage after their mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with an injury to his index finger. The recurrence of Mujeeb's injury forced the Afghanistan team management to bring power-hitter Hazratullah Zazai as his replacement.
However, Afghanistan have enough quality spinners in their arsenal who can fill in for Mujeeb and left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad looks like an ideal replacement for him in the playing XI. Noor, 19, is young but has a calm head on his shoulders and knows how to deliver in a crunch situation. The youngster has won Gujrat Titans several games in the Indian Premier League and therefore Afghanistan can surely afford to take a punt on him.
On the other hand, it will be interesting to see whether India tinker with their playing combination or stick with the same XI that played during the league stage. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are still warming the bench as the team management has stuck with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
India vs Afghanistan head to head T20I record
Notably, India have a domineering record against Afghanistan in the T20I format. Both teams have played eight games against each other and the Men in Blue have won all eight contests. Hence, Afghanistan will have a point to prove when they take the field against Team India on Thursday and will be eager to slay the giants.
