World Cup 2019: Match 28, India vs Afghanistan, Preview, predicted Playing XI, Weather Report, Head-to-Head Stats & Pitch Report
High flying India will face their Asian counterparts Afghanistan in the 28th fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Saturday, June 2 at The Rose Bowl in Southampton.
The two teams have had contrasting fortunes in the World Cup thus far with India remaining unbeaten up until now, while Afghanistan have failed to win a single match from their five encounters.
With India looking to cement their spot in the top four, one can expect the Men in Blue to record a comfortable win but with the likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi in the Afghanistan setup, India cannot afford to take the Afghanistan challenge lightly.
Match Details
Date: 22nd June 2019 (Saturday)
Time: 10:30 AM (England) and 03:00 PM (IST)
Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Live Stream & TV Broadcast
Afghanistan: Moby TV & Hotstar.
India: Star Sports Network, Doordarshan, All India Radio & Hotstar.
Weather Report
The fans and players will enjoy a sunny Southampton day with around 50 percent cloud cover and 19 degrees celsius temperature throughout the course of the play.
Pitch Report
The typical Rose Bowl deck is among the most balanced pitches of England, and one should expect a tight contest between the bat and ball here.
Head-to-Head Stats
Overall: In two ODI fixtures, the Indians have won one, while the other one ended in a thrilling tie during the Asia Cup 2018.
In CWC: This will be their first head to head game in the pinnacle event.
India
The Blues will take the field as firm favourites to win this clash, through they will take some cues from their Asia Cup meeting against the same opponents, and make sure to not give them any room for the revival.
Batting
Key Batsmen: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul & Virat Kohli
India's top order is in top form with all of their batsmen performing. Rohit Sharma is among the top five run getters this edition with 319 runs in three innings. KL Rahul also looks in fine touch and can be backed after his 57 against Pakistan. Skipper Virat Kohli is also enjoying a good run of form with two fifty plus scores in three games.
Bowling
Key Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal & Mohammad Shami
Indian bowling attack will see one forced change in the department with Mohammad Shami coming in place for Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Shami will join Jasprit Bumrah in the pace unit and these two along with the spinners are likely to be Kohli's key bowlers against the Afghans.
Expected Playing XI
Virat Kohli (C), MS Dhoni (W), KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah.
Afghanistan
The Afghans are struggling badly in this World Cup and have been quite clueless on the quick English tracks.
Batting
Key Batsmen: Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan & Rahmat Shah
Hashmatullah Shahidi notched up a gritty 76 against England, while former skipper Asghar Afghan and Rahmat Shah, both missed out on the fifties. Despite the defeat, these were good signs of revival but against a strong Indian batting unit, they will need to be at their best.
Bowling
Key Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman & Gulbadin Naib
The failure of Rashid Khan is hurting them badly, and the skipper will back him to make a strong comeback against the Indians while Gulbadin Naib and Dawlat Zadran both snared three wickets in the last game and will be desperate to replicate their show on Saturday.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi have the prior experience of playing against the Indian players, and these two will be eager to make their IPL experience count on this occasion.
Expected Playing XI
Gulbadin Naib (C), Ikram Ali Khil (W), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.