FEVER PITCH: After tricky Chennai pitch, India face Afghanistan on a belter

New Delhi, October 10

India skipper Rohit Sharma had pointed out at the start of the World Cup that his team’s biggest challenge during the tournament was playing at nine different venues.

After coming through in a tricky low-scoring encounter against Australia on a spin-friendly Chennai pitch on Sunday, the hosts take on Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here tomorrow. In the opening game at the venue, South Africa plundered 428 runs to break the record for the highest team total in the men’s ODI World Cup. Sri Lanka then scored 326 as both teams benefited from the ground’s shorter square boundaries. The match also saw South Africa’s pacers taking eight of Sri Lanka’s wickets.

The change in the nature of the pitch and the size of the ground may force the team management to play only two spinners and it is likely that R Ashwin may sit this match out and be replaced by either Mohammad Shami or Shardul Thakur. However, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour shied away from talking about prospective changes in the playing XI.

“We have just arrived. I think they (captain and coach) will assess the wicket and then decide. We have not had any discussion on that yet,” Rathour said.

One man who will definitely not play in this match is Shubman Gill, who is yet to recover from dengue. This means Ishan Kishan will get another chance to open the innings. The left-handed batter was dismissed for a duck after he opened alongside Sharma in the last match. The top-order wobble against Australia, when the hosts were reduced to 2/3 within the first two overs, will be a worry for the team management. Rathour, however, said he was confident that the players would be able to adapt to all situations.

“We have a very experienced batting unit at the moment. Everyone knows how they have to play in this format,” he said. “Everyone has their own way. We are giving them the freedom to play the way they want to play. We have the trust that if they play and back themselves, we will achieve what we are looking to achieve,” he added.

Looking to bounce back

Afghanistan, who are smarting from a disappointing show in their opening game against Bangladesh, will have their task cut out against India. For a team that has regularly performed in the T20 format, relying heavily on top-class spinners such as Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Afghanistan seem to be out of their depth in ODIs.

They have played just 29 ODIs between the last World Cup and this one. In comparison, India have played 66. Afghanistan have lost their last five games. In their opener in Dharamsala, they were beaten by Bangladesh by six wickets after having been dismissed for 154 runs.