Match Details
Date: 08 September 2022
Time: 07:30 PM IST
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Ball-by-ball commentary: SportsTiger App
Preview
India are almost knocked out of Asia Cup 2022 while Afghanistan are still optimistic about their chances. The two teams will be knocked out if Afghanistan lose to Pakistan on Wednesday. But if Afghanistan somehow manage to beat Pakistan, then things will become a bit interesting. Both teams will have chances to qualify but they will have to depend on the result of the last match of the Super 4 stage, between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. If India are to qualify, they need to beat Afghanistan by a big margin but if Afghanistan win, the Rohit Sharma-led team will be knocked out.
Pitch Report
The Dubai pitch has been a mediocre one so far. While runs were hard to score in the early stages of the tournament, teams have started putting up good totals in the last few games. However, batting first is still a bit tricky with the pitch all dry and sticky. Bowlers, especially spinners, will play a crucial role here.
Team Analysis
India
A lot of issues have certainly surfaced for India. With Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of the tournament, it seems the balance is gone. After the two group stage games, India seem to be struggling with batting first. KL Rahul is yet to score big (at a higher strike rate). Rishabh Pant has not done any good either. The wicketkeeper batter has wasted the two batting opportunities he got in the Super 4 stage. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik, who was roped in to play the finisher’s role is warming the bench.
Deepak Hooda also looks clueless batting at an undesirable position. The bowling department lacked potency against Sri Lanka as well as Pakistan. Now, it is to be seen what changes does Rohit Sharma make for the final game.
SportsTiger Playing XI of India
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh
Afghanistan
With India losing two of their Super 4s games, Afghanistan have a chance to make it to the final. But they will have to go past two heavyweights, India and Pakistan. So, the road is not easy but Afghanistan have shown that can do the undoable. They have got three really good batters in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, and Najibullah Zadran. If Hazratullah Zazai finds his touch, Afghanistan have a solid top and middle order. A contribution from captain Mohammad Nabi is also due and Afghanistan will hope that it comes at the right time.
The bowling will mostly depend on the spin twin of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. But Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi also need to take wickets upfront.
SportsTiger Playing XI of Afghanistan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Samiullah Shinwari, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Match Prediction
Conclusion
India might have lost two matches in a row against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the Rohit Sharma-led team still have the ability to beat Afghanistan.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.