"I expect their batting to let them down in this match as well" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 clash vs India
Aakash Chopra expects Afghanistan's batting to let them down in their 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 clash against India. The two Asian teams will face off in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Thursday, June 20.
India reached the Super 8s after topping Group A, winning their first three games before their final group match against Canada was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Afghanistan finished second in Group C, registering emphatic wins against Uganda, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea before suffering a 104-run loss to the West Indies.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Afghanistan's batting will likely prove to be their stumbling block against India.
"It's an interesting team. I feel this team's bowling is decent but their batting definitely lets them down, and I expect their batting to let them down in this match as well. That's why I am saying India will win this match," he said (6:10).
The former India batter noted that the Afghans lack batting depth and are over-reliant on their openers.
"Slight weaknesses are seen in this team's batting. After both openers, Gulbadin Naib was sent up the order. He even did well in one match. Then Karim Janat comes in batting. I don't see that much might in batting. It looks okay, okay to me," Chopra observed.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (167) and Ibrahim Zadran (152) are Afghanistan's top two run-getters in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Azmatullah Omarzai (63) and Gulbadin Naib (60) are the only players to aggregate more than 35 runs.
"This team is trying to progress based on their bowling attack and they will try that only" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan
However, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that Afghanistan have a formidable bowling attack.
"This team's bowling is very good. They have Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Mujeeb (Ur Rahman) is not there but they have Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq. It's a very good bowling attack. So this team is trying to progress based on their bowling attack and they will try that only," he noted in the same video.
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons the captain winning the toss might be in a dilemma.
"Barbados has a very interesting record. It's strange that teams batting first have won more games. Generally, teams batting second win in T20 cricket but here teams batting first have won," Chopra reasoned.
"When Australia scored 201 here, it was the third-highest total in this ground's history, and they won while batting first. So should you bat first after winning the toss? The Indian and Afghanistan teams will definitely ask that question to themselves. I don't know what will be the answer to that question," he added.
Chopra concluded by observing that the one thing that goes in Afghanistan's favor is that virtually all their players are T20 journeymen. He added that they have a lot of IPL experience and that it doesn't matter to them when they see the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the opposition.