3 player battles to watch out for in India vs Afghanistan, Match 43 of 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Rishabh Pant vs Rashid Khan
India will begin the Super 8 phase of their T20 World Cup campaign with a tricky encounter against Afghanistan. Both teams won three games each in their respective groups and will lock horns in Barbados on Thursday, June 20.
After encountering tough conditions in New York, the Indian batters would like the change of scenery as the pitches in the West Indies have been much better for batting. However, they will be tested against Afghanistan's quality spinners as well as the in-form pacer in Fazalhaq Farooqui.
Afghanistan did lose their previous game against the West Indies, but have a better idea of the conditions than India and would certainly want to drive home that advantage.
On that note, let's take a look at three match-ups that could decide which team draws first blood in Group 1 of the Super 8 stage:
#3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Jasprit Bumrah
Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz's scintillating form has been one of the main reasons they have been able to post competitive totals in the tournament so far. He is the highest run-scorer at the moment with 167 runs from four matches at a strike rate of 150.45.
India will know the onus would be on Gurbaz to get Afghanistan off to a flier again and might need to play their trump card Jasprit Bumrah early in the game. Bumrah is arguably in the form of his life and could be too hot to handle for Gurbaz if there's help on offer early on with the new ball.
#2 Virat Kohli vs Fazalhaq Farooqi
There has been a lot of talk around Virat Kohli opening the batting in the T20 World Cup and whether that is a move that needs to be reconsidered. The ace batter, who scored 741 runs as an opener in IPL 2024, has amassed just five runs at the same position in three innings so far.
Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi has been sensational in the tournament and is the highest wicket-taker with 12 scalps from four games. He can swing the ball and also has the variations needed to cause Kohli some problems early on.
However, Kohli has a positive match-up against Farooqi, which is good news for the Men in Blue. Kohli has scored 37 runs off the 16 balls he has faced from Farooqi in T20Is and this could well be the game where the star batter delivers a performance that lives up to the standards he has set over the years.
#1 Rishabh Pant vs Rashid Khan
Rishabh Pant's surprise move to No. 3 has worked wonders for India and the Men in Blue are likely to continue letting the southpaw express himself. His 96 runs in the three innings on a tough pitch in New York would have given him a lot of confidence and would arguably be the biggest threat to the Afghanistan bowling.
The Indian wicketkeeper would certainly not hold himself back against the quality spinners and that's where his match-up against Rashid Khan would be an interesting one. Pant has scored 113 runs in the 100 balls he has faced from the star spinner in all T20 cricket and has been dismissed twice.
It is a match-up that is just tilted in favor of Rashid but would come down to who seizes the initiative on the day.