India will take on Afghanistan in their second warm-up match at Adelaide in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. India have failed to win a single game since arriving in Australia in November 2014, and this will undoubtedly be their best chance to change that embarrassing fact. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
Afghanistan, on the other hand, will need to guard against being overwhelmed. They are playing their first ever 50-over World Cup, and will understandably be nervous. However, given that they have given a good account of themselves in their short international stint so far, other teams would be wary of an upset. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
India will want to sort out their numerous batting woes before taking on Pakistan on February 15. Rohit Sharma scored a century in the tri-series and Shikhar Dhawan scored a fifty in the last practice match, so both openers have managed to score a few runs. Ajinkya Rahane has looked good throughout, and will be a vital part of India’s middle order. Virat Kohli has been in excellent form, but somehow has failed to get going in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) so far. One feels he is a knock away from going back to his high-scoring ways. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
With Ambati Rayudu having scored a combative half-century down the order, India are left with an interesting headache: could Rayudu replace the misfiring Suresh Raina in the XI? It would be an option MS Dhoni might consider, so runs from Raina in this match will be important. Dhoni himself has not had the best of luck, either as skipper or batsman. He played a good pull shot in the practice match only to be caught brilliantly at the boundary by the tallest fielder on either side. He will need to play a meaningful innings to give the team some confidence.
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For the Afghans, even a stiff competition will give them a huge boost. If they manage to overcome India, they will give a clear and loud message to every team they will face in the World Cup. Their bowling attack will be an integral part of their plans, as they don’t really have batsmen who can score big hundreds and set up 300-plus totals. As a result, the bowlers will need to work overtime to ensure that the opposition is restricted to paltry scores.
Given current form, the match might not be as one-sided as some of the other matches involving minnows. India will desperately want to pull off a convincing win. If they don’t, then Pakistan will go into the opening encounter confident of changing the 5-0 margin.
Squads:
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (c), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Afsar Zazai (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Javed Ahmadi, Usman Ghani
India: MS Dhoni (c&wk), Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Akshar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Stuart Binny, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma.
Time: 09:00 IST | 14:00 local
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)
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