India vs Afghanistan 2018: 5 player battles to watch out for
They are perhaps the most exciting team in the world at the moment and they take that step towards Test cricket after having captured the attention of everyone around, in white ball cricket.
Their recent success against Bangladesh in the just-concluded T20 series in Dehradun is a testament to the fact that they cannot be taken lightly and that when Ajinkya Rahane leads the Indian team out for the one-off Test match in Bengaluru on June 14, he will be aware that these Afghans will put up a fight and that India can take them lightly at their own peril.
The Indian team on the other hand too would want to get into the red ball mode as a challenging tour of England looms large. It will be a series of two contrasting priorities, it will be a contest when both the teams would not want to blink and it will eventually come down the respective players.
Here in this slider, we take a look at five player battles which might determine the eventual result of the match.
#5 Mujeeb ur Rahman vs KL Rahul
The two success stories in this year's Indian Premier League, Kings XI Punjab's KL Rahul, and Mujeeb ur Rahman will lock horns against each other as adversaries.
While Rahul has established himself as India's number 1 Test opener, Mujeeb has tasted significant success in T20 cricket in the recent past.
Hence, this match-up might well prove to be one which could set the tone of the match and then go a long way in determining the eventual outcome after five days.
Rahul will be playing in his home ground and he should ideally be well-equipped to tackle the mystery of Mujeeb, but the young man has already given a great account of his temperament which will hold him in great stead in his first stint with the red ball.