The Indian team prides itself on possessing the skills and mindset to adapt to any conditions. This will be put to the test in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super 8 stage, which starts with a match against Afghanistan here on Thursday.
The pitch at the Kensington Oval should please the Indian batters, who were forced to curb their attacking instincts in the group stage games at New York.
The side will have to cope with more spin-friendly conditions here. At the nets session on Tuesday, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli took a little while to adjust to the sharp turn and grip extracted by the slow bowlers.
Suryakumar Yadav, who backs himself against spin, could be the key wicket here. “That (playing spinners) has always been my strong point. It does not matter what the conditions are or what the bowlers do, I have to adapt and play. I will bring my skillset,” a confident Suryakumar said on Tuesday.
Rishabh Pant, who has grown into his new number three role, could take the match away from Afghanistan in just a few overs.
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It remains to be seen if India persists with the same eleven. It would be tempting to field either Yuzvendra Chahal or Kuldeep Yadav to make best use of the conditions on offer.
Afghanistan depends heavily on a three-pronged spin attack - captain Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi.
Afghanistan faltered in its last group stage match, against West Indies at Gros Islet on Monday. A Nicholas Pooran demolition job, punctuated by a 36-run over off pacer Azmatullah Omarzai, shut the Afghans out.
The bowlers cannot afford to make the same mistake against India, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said. “Being able to pull overs back… If we don’t start an over well, we should be able to get out of it (with minimal damage). We had two overs go for 60 runs (against West Indies), and that swings the game massively,” Trott said.
This was the lone blemish in a hot streak which included a 84-run win over New Zealand.
Rashid, now a familiar foe to the Indians having competed in eight IPL seasons, once again poses the major threat. The leg-spinner went wicketless in the West Indies assault, but did a number on the Kiwis with a four-wicket haul.
India, incidentally, has a poor T20I record at the Kensington Oval. The side has played two matches at this venue, in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, and lost both (against Australia and West Indies).
Only Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja are still active from that playing eleven. This is the ideal chance to create happier memories.
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