"Winning toss could be advantageous": Aakash Chopra ahead of India-Afghanistan clash in T20 World Cup
Jun 19, 2024
New Delhi [India], June 19 : Ahead of the clash between India and Afghanistan in the Super 8s of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra said that winning the toss and batting first at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, could prove advantageous.
India will be taking on Afghanistan in their first Super Eight clash on June 20 at Bridgetown. India remained unbeaten in the group stage with wins over Ireland, Pakistan and the USA in low-scoring games, with their last game against Canada on June 15 having been washed out due to rain.
"The pitch in New York was not suitable for T20 cricket, with batters struggling and bowlers dominating. In the West Indies, each venue offers a different challenge. The Tarouba pitch has minimal bounce, in Guyana, the ball turns a lot, and Barbados has a decent surface. Overall, the pitches are tough for batters, and high-scoring games will be rare," Chopra said on Jio Cinema.
The 46-year-old further stated that winning the toss and batting first at Barbados has been a successful strategy for the teams.
"Winning the toss and opting to bat first could be advantageous, as historically, it has been a successful strategy on this ground. Afghanistan tends to struggle while chasing targets but excels at defending them, thanks to their exceptional spin bowlers. However, Rashid Khan did not have a stellar IPL season, and their other bowlers also underperformed. Therefore, I'm confident that India will play well and secure a good result," the commentator added.
India will be aiming to do well against Afghanistan (June 20), Bangladesh (June 22) and Australia (24).
Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
