India vs Afghanistan, 2nd T20I: Hosts aim to seal series
India thrashed Afghanistan by six wickets in the opening T20I clash on Thursday. The hosts will aim to wrap up the series at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on January 14. However, Afghanistan will hope to give India a tough fight in the upcoming clash. Ibrahim Zadran's men will try their best to win this clash and force the decider. Here's the preview.
A look at their head-to-head
India and Afghanistan have met in only six T20Is as of now. While India remain unbeaten with five wins, one of these games was washed out. The two sides have locked horns thrice in the T20 World Cup and once in the Asia Cup. Last year, the India-Afghanistan final at the Asian Games (men's T20 competition) had no result.
Here are the key match details
Indore's Holkar Stadium will host the second T20I between India and Afghanistan. As per Howstat, 210 is the average first innings score here in T20Is which means one can expect a high-scoring affair. Out of the three T20Is here, teams batting first have won twice. Sports18 will telecast the match, while JioCinema will allow fans to live-stream it from 7:00pm IST.
Virat Kohli is set to return in the second T20I
As per reports, Virat Kohli is all set to feature for India in the second T20I clash against Afghanistan. He missed the first clash due to personal reasons. Kohli last featured in T20Is for India back in November 2022 against England at the ICC T20 World Cup clash in Adelaide. Heading into the 2024 T20 World Cup, Kohli's form will be extremely crucial.
All-round improvement is needed for Afghanistan
Afghanistan were convincingly beaten by India in the first match. Their openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim need to score briskly allowing the platform for the likes of Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi. Without Rashid Khan, the onus is on Mujeeb Ur Rahman to lead the attack but the pacers need to step up with early wickets to support the spinners.
A look at the probable playing XIs
India's probable playing XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar. Afghanistan's probable playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq and Mujee Ur Rahman.
Here are the key players
Kohli is the highest run-scorer for India against Afghanistan in T20Is. He owns 172 runs in two innings, including two fifty-plus scores. Gurbaz and Zadran were Afghanistan's two most successful batters in T20I since the start of 2023, with 311 and 260 runs respectively. Since the start of last year, Omarzai has claimed 10 T20I dismissals for Afghanistan. Arshdeep has claimed 59 T20I scalps.
A look at the upcoming milestones
Axar needs three more wickets to complete 50 wickets in T20I cricket. He will be the ninth Indian to achieve this feat. Virat needs 35 runs to complete 12,000 runs in T20s. He will be the first Indian batter with this record. Nabi requires 81 runs to become the second Afghanistan batter to accomplish 2,000 runs in T20I cricket.
Dream11 team predictions
Option 1: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Mohammad Nabi, Axar Patel (vc), Arshdeep Singh, Naveen-ul-Haq and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Option 2: Rohit Sharma (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Virat Kohli, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Mohammad Nabi (vc), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Mujee Ur Rahman.
