World Cup 2023, Match 9: India take on Afghanistan in New Delhi - Preview and result prediction

India got off to a winning start in the home ODI World Cup on Sunday (Oct 8) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Taking on the five-time winners Australia, Rohit Sharma-led India were asked to bowl first and rode on Ravindra Jadeja's three-fer and two wickets each from Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah to bundle out the visitors for 199 in 49.3 overs. In reply, India were tottering at 2 for 3 before Virat Kohli's 85 and KL Rahul's 97 not out took them home with six wickets, and 52 balls, to spare.

Now, the Rohit-led Men in Blue will lock horns with Afghanistan in their second outing at the national capital New Delhi on Wednesday (Oct 11). Talking about Afghanistan, they fell flat in their tournament-opener, losing to Bangladesh in Dharamshala by six wickets after being out for 156. For them to give a good fight versus Team India, they need their batters to stand tall and pull offan all-roundeffort.

IND vs AFG, Head-to-head record in ODI World Cup

So far, both sides have met only once in the ODI World Cup history. In the 2019 edition, Kohli-led India only managed 224 for 8 after opting to bat first in Southampton. In reply, Rashid Khan-starrer Afghans were bundled out for 213 to lose by 11 runs with Mohammed Shami taking a hat-trick.

Pitch conditions and result prediction:

The freshpitches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, prepared using black soil, has made the surface more batting-friendly. Expect another high-scoring affair -- especially if India bat first -- with dew assisting the team batting second as well. It will be interesting to see what the captain winning the toss chooses to do.

India can also consider using a spinner less with one of Shardul Thakur or Mohammed Shami coming in. Overall, Shubman Gill-less India are expected to emerge on top with less hiccups.

Predicted Playing XIs:

According to Dav Whatmore, Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup-winning coach and WION's in-house expert, the potential XIs should be asfollows:

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammed Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Match-ups to watch out for:
R. Sharma vs Fazalhaq Farooqi
Virat Kohli vs Naveen-ul-Haq
KL Rahul vs Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Jasprit Bumrah
Hashmatullah Shahidi vs Ravindra Jadeja

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