Asia Cup has been tremendously exciting this time around. The teams are competing in the grandest battle of Asian supremacy. The contests are going right to the last overs. The balance on all sides has escalated the fire in the competition. Afghanistan T20 International Team, which was underdogs in cricket, showed tremendous potential in the tournament. The contest against Pakistan in September did go to the last over. There was no shadow of a doubt that Afghanistan was going to take the game against Pakistan. However, Pakistan unbelievably clinched the victory against Afghanistan in the final moments eliminating Afghanistan from Asia Cup 2022. The win of Pakistan not only decided the finalists of Asia Cup 2022 but eliminated arch-rivals India from the tournament. The next India vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022 has the significance of a dead rubber.
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It means no matter which team wins in India vs Afghanistan contest, the result will not have any effect on the final game on September 11. Sri Lanka will play Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 final at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Both Afghanistan and India are eliminated from the tournament. However, the teams could make changes in their line-ups to experiment with the squads before the T20 World Cup 2022. The bigger and ultimate assignment in the form of the T20 World Cup is going to arrive. In India vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022 contest, both teams need to play cricket giving their 100 percent on the field. It will help these sides to carry high morale ahead of the mega event.
India vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022: Head-to-Head
Let’s take a look at the head-to-head record. Afghanistan and India have met each other three times in the T20 International cricket. On all three occasions, India turned out to be victorious against the Afghanistan team. In the forthcoming contest, Afghanistan would like to improve its record against India to end Asia Cup 2022 on a high note.
Form Insights
India
India initiated the Asia Cup 2022 on a high note after defeating Pakistan by 5 wickets on August 28. The wonderful lofted shot by Hardik Pandya against the arch-rivals in the final over gave India a flying win against Pakistan. Furthermore, India made sure to not make any mistakes against Hong Kong in the Group A contest. The side won the games comprehensively against the associate nation.
The Super Four round of the Asia Cup is the most critical stage of the tournament. It is the round where the real nerves of teams are tested. Indian team looked tremendously strong on the paper ahead of the Super Four round. However, India suffered a defeat against Pakistan after the men in green won unbelievably by 5 wickets at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Sri Lanka vs India game became a must-win for India. Lanka is a struggling side following the departure of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara from the side. But it defeated India spectacularly by 6 wickets which almost ended the chances of India in the Asia Cup 2022. The victory of Pakistan against Afghanistan means India has no chance of qualifying for the final.
Last Four Matches: L L W W
Afghanistan
Afghanistan started the Asia Cup 2022 astonishingly after defeating Sri Lanka easily by 8 wickets in the first round. Bangladesh was not able to give tough time to Afghanistan as the blue tigers demolished Bangal Tigers at Sharjah after chasing the target amazingly. Afghanistan was the first team to qualify for the Super Four round. However, Sri Lanka took revenge against Afghanistan after winning the significant contest diminishing the chances of Afghanistan in the tournament.
Despite playing phenomenal cricket in the tournament, Afghanistan was hanging by thread ahead of the game against Pakistan. It was a must-win for the team. The last over heroics of Naseem Shah vs Afghanistan ended the stint of Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022. There is not a single doubt that Afghanistan has emerged as one of the most dangerous teams in the T20 International format. If Afghanistan wins against India in Asia Cup 2022, it will be one of the great achievements for the Afghan cricketers.
Last Four Matches: L L W W
Can Afghanistan upset India at Dubai in Asia Cup 2022?
The key factor will be the toss, for sure! Both Afghanistan and India lost the games in the tournament after losing the match against the opponent. If Afghanistan wants to fire against India, the fast bowlers of Afghanistan need to give tough times to India. The men in blue have a history of struggling against the left-arm pacers. This is why Fazal is the key for Afghanistan. A wicket or two will surely destroy the confidence of India against Afghanistan.
India is renowned for playing the spin bowlers well in T20 International cricket. We have seen that pattern in the Indian Premier League where players like Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya smash the spinners all around the park. It could be a tough outing for the trio of Mujeeb, Rashid and Nabi. If India does not want to cause any more upset to its side, it needs to play the toughest Afghanistan spinners well at Sharjah stadium. There is no need to hurry. The top spin and googly of Rashid Khan test the best batsmen of the circuit tremendously. However, the players who show patience are likely to stand firm on the crease.
The Middle-Order Issues For Afghanistan
Afghanistan has issues in the middle-over. The left-handed batsman Najeeb Ullah Zadran has been performing quite well for Afghanistan. However, the failure of Najeeb means Afghanistan needs to press the panic button. The other batsmen like Karim Jannat and Mohammad Nabi need to provide much-needed support to Najeeb so Afghanistan could bat well against India. In the middle overs, Yuzvendra Chahal often provides a breakthrough for his side so the Afghan batters needed to make a plan against the mystery spinner. There is no doubt that the current Afghanistan side has all the potential of upsetting the Indian side.
Despite India vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022 being a dead rubber, the contest would still be tremendously interesting for cricket fans. Because the best T20 cricketers will compete with each other in a phenomenal contest of cricket. Do you have the interest to find out which team has the higher chance of winning the India vs Afghanistan Asia Cup 2022 contest? If yes, then you could go to the best online cricket sportsbook sites in the UK to find out the numbers.
