IND vs AFG: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli must watch out for Fazalhaq Farooqi’s early wickets, while middle-order batsmen like Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube need to handle spinners Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi effectively.
IND vs AFG T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan has dominated three of their four opponents, keeping them under 100 runs during the Group Stages. As India faces Afghanistan in their Super Eight match in Barbados, they are wary of Afghanistan’s potent and adaptable bowling attack. The pitch in Bridgetown has balanced batting and bowling well so far, and an in-form Afghan attack could tip the scales.
The Barbados pitch has favored fast bowlers in this tournament. Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi has particularly stood out with the new ball for Afghanistan. Despite playing on other less lively Caribbean pitches, the 23-year-old has been impressive, taking 12 wickets at an average of just 6.66 runs per wicket.
In T20I matches in Barbados since 2010, teams batting first have won 52 times compared to 38 wins for teams batting second. The average score for the first batting team is 153, while it’s 147.2 for teams chasing.
Farooqi’s strength lies in his ability to swing the new ball both ways. He will likely challenge Rohit Sharma with in-swinging deliveries before testing him with away-moving balls outside off stump. His current form suggests he can also trouble Virat Kohli with deliveries just outside the off-stump, executed with precision.
However, Afghanistan faces a challenge in the middle overs when Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi start bowling. Their performance against India hasn’t been impressive. Rashid Khan hasn’t taken any wickets against India in international matches and has an economy rate of 8.63. Meanwhile, Mohammad Nabi has an even poorer record with an economy rate of 10.87 and just one wicket from seven games.
The average run rates in Barbados for the first and second innings since 2010 have been 7.65 and 7.35, respectively. This is lower than what Rashid and Nabi have typically conceded against India.
Performance Data in Barbados Before IND vs AFG
Fast Bowlers:
- Wickets: 37
- Economy Rate: 7.54 runs per over
- Strike Rate: 15.8 balls per wicket
Spinners:
- Wickets: 17
- Economy Rate: 7.27 runs per over
- Strike Rate: 24.7 balls per wicket
The contest between the Indian middle-order and Afghan spinners will be crucial in Barbados due to the pitch conditions. According to the statistics, it’s generally easier to bat first on this pitch as it slows down over time.
In the same match, the pitch has shown varying behaviors. During the big game between Australia and England earlier in the tournament, both teams scored heavily in the Powerplay, with Australia getting 74 runs and England 54. However, as the ball became softer and older, hitting big shots became harder during the middle and later stages of the innings.
To handle the spin challenge, India relies on middle-order batsmen Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, who bring different styles of boundary-hitting to the table.