Afghanistan vs India predictions: Bumrah can lead way for India
- Jasprit Bumrah finished third in the IPL this season with 20 wickets
- Afghanistan have never beaten India in a T20 international
- Recommended Bet: Jasprit Bumrah top India wicket-taker
India will look to get off to a strong start in the Super 8 stage at the 2024 T20 World Cup when they take on Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday.
Rohit Sharma’s team were unbeaten in the group stage, beating Ireland, Pakistan and the United States in Group A before their final match against Canada was rained off.
Afghanistan also made a fast start to the competition, getting the better of Uganda, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in Group C, but they came unstuck against co-hosts West Indies in their final match, losing by a huge margin for a T20 game of 104 runs.
Team news
India batsman Suryakumar Yadav suffered an injury scare in the team's training session in Barbados on Monday when he was hit on the hand but he was able to complete the practice and should be able to play.
Ravindra Jadeja is at risk of losing his place in the team after failing to shine in the group stage.
Jadeja got a duck against Pakistan the only time he was required to bat and has failed to make much of an impression when bowling.
India could opt to play three spinners with Kuldeep Yadav a candidate to come into the attack.
Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman will miss the rest of the tournament due to a finger injury. Reserve Hazratullah Zazai is now a full member of the squad but not likely to feature in this match.
The stats
Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi ended the group stage as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 12.
India have not been in action for more than a week after their final group game was washed out.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan scored the most runs in the group stage with 167 in four matches.
The team batting first in T20 internationals at the Kensington Oval have won 18 of the 26 matches.
The average score batting first in T20Is at this ground is 161, while the average for teams chasing a target is 141.
Afghanistan bowled out their first three opponents in this tournament for under 100 runs.
Prediction
India are rightly strong favourites for their opening Super 8 clash at the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan.
The Men in Blue are 2/11 at LiveScore Bet to open their second-stage campaign with a victory in Barbados and should maintain their unbeaten start to the tournament.
India won a home T20 series against Afghanistan 3-0 in January, although the finale provided plenty of drama as they needed two Super Overs to prevail.
Star bowler Jasprit Bumrah did not feature for India in that series and that lack of familiarity could boost his chances of success against Afghanistan in this match.
Bumrah was among the wickets in the group stage, taking 2-6 against Ireland and a crucial 3-14 in four economical overs against Pakistan as India successfully defended a vulnerable total of 119.
The right-arm fast bowler snared 20 wickets in the IPL this season and is worth backing to do the most damage to the Afghanistan batting line-up on Thursday.
