Indore (Madhya Pradesh): India, who won the first T20I against minnows Afghanistan at Mohali will look to seal the three match series by winning the second encounter here on Sunday.
A lot is at stake for skipper Rohit Sharma is on the verge of making history as he is just one game away from having the distinction of being the first international player to feature in 150 T20Internationals.
Rohit was run out in the first T20 at Mohali following a mix up with opening partner Shubman Gill. He too would be keen to amass runs under his belt as he would look to impress the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee.
Focus will also be firmly be on star batter and former skipper Virat Kohli, who skipped the first T20 due to personal reasons and will be taking the field in Indore. Kohli for the record will play a T20I in national colors after November 2022 when India lost to England in the semi final of the ICC T20 World Cup at Adelaide.
Kohli does not need to prove his mettle to anyone but come Sunday against a listless Afghanistan attack sans star spinner Rashid Khan, it will be an opportunity for the Delhi batter to cement his place in the side for the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be played in the Caribbean and the United States from June this year.
With only two T20Is left before the elite tournament, the 35-year-old will like to make optimum use of the opportunity that has come his way. He would be keen to score a bit and if the ace right handed batter gets going and fires on all cylinders, it will be a nightmare for the opposition.
And what better place than Indore, the Holkar stadium - the venue for the second T20, for Virat to add more runs to his kitty. The venue is known for a belter of a pitch where scores of 175 or above are scored with utmost ease. Come Sunday, the capacity crowd would also be hoping that it rains fours and sixes at the ground.
Rohit and Virat, many including former India pacer Madan Lal, believe that should play the T20 World Cup and hence this would be a litmus Test for the Mumbaikar, who has two ICC Trophies in his Cabinet - the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy apart from plethora of IPL titles.
India's top order faltered in Mohali at the IS Bindra Stadium and they would like to take on the Afghanistan attack with gusto. The middle order clicked with Shivam Dube scoring an unbeaten 60 to guide the hosts to a win. The southpaw would be keen to continue from where he left.
The India bowling attack also delivered in the first game as they restricted the Afghans to sub par total in Mohali. However it would be challenging to bowl in the Indore track.
The pace attack led by Arshdeep Singh will have to bowl in the right areas and left arm spinner Axar Patel would need to play his role to perfection.
The Afghans on the other hand would be keen to put up an improvised show and aim to level the series though it would be very difficult to outplay the Indian team in its own den. The Ibrahim Zadran side would be hoping that the last and final game of the series at the famed Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru doesn't become a dead rubber.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ikram Alikhil (wicket-keeper), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.
Match starts at 7 PM
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