India (181/8) defeat Afghanistan (134/10) comfortably by 47 runs to claim their first victory of the Super 8 stage

Some posters here are very disappointed with Afghanistan's performance. They really expected India to lose. Now, they are coming up with silly excuses. Frustration is quite visible. LOL.
Afghans are good enough to beat low ranked teams consistently. However when playing teams like Australia, England and India, they fall short. They need one more solid T20 hitter to compete with big guys. As of now, other than Gurbaz, Ibrahim and Azmat, their batsmen are not international class match winners. They only play well sporadically.
 
Afghans are good enough to beat low ranked teams consistently. However when playing teams like Australia, England and India, they fall short. They need one more solid T20 hitter to compete with big guys. As of now, other than Gurbaz, Ibrahim and Azmat, their batsmen are not international class match winners. They only play well sporadically.
Middle.order is weak. Nabi isn't the same as he was a couple.of years ago
 
Good win but we won't win against Australia/ england if Rohit- virat performed like this
Team effort is required to win against any strong team, not just relying on Rohit or Kohli. From now on, we need consistent performances from all-rounders Pandya, Jadeja, and Axar. Our chances of winning the tournament depend on them.
 
Afghans are good enough to beat low ranked teams consistently. However when playing teams like Australia, England and India, they fall short. They need one more solid T20 hitter to compete with big guys. As of now, other than Gurbaz, Ibrahim and Azmat, their batsmen are not international class match winners. They only play well sporadically.
They are like Zimbabwe in the 90s. Hopefully they can grow and not decline.
 
He will play out Bumrah and will smash the rest to oblivion.

Head always is at his best against India.
Head can get beaten for 4 balls and can smash Bumrah the next two balls for 12 runs. He's an unpredictable beast
 
Jadeja deserves a lot of criticism too. He has never done anything in T20s and nothing changes now. All he does is bowl two overs of economical line and length bowling and hardly plays any significant knock in T20Is.
 
Jadeja deserves a lot of criticism too. He has never done anything in T20s and nothing changes now. All he does is bowl two overs of economical line and length bowling and hardly plays any significant knock in T20Is.
He needs to be out, I trust Arsh to bat better than him.
 
Jadeja deserves a lot of criticism too. He has never done anything in T20s and nothing changes now. All he does is bowl two overs of economical line and length bowling and hardly plays any significant knock in T20Is.
I think Kohli, Rohit, Jadeja are playing their last world cup.
 
Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav star as India defeat Afghanistan in Super Eights

The opening match of Group 1 at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 saw India face Afghanistan in a fixture that will set the tone of the Super Eight group.

India had Suryakumar Yadav to thank for a 47-run win against Afghanistan as they got the Group 1 action going in the Super Eights in Bridgetown.

After ten overs, India were 79/3 - having lost Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Virat Kohli.

But Yadav's partnership with Hardik Pandya got them back on an even keel, leading to a solid first-innings score of 181/8.

In their response, Afghanistan were bowled out for 134 - thanks in no small part to an exceptional spell from Jasprit Bumrah, who finished with figures of 3/7.

Afghanistan were hugely impressive in qualifying for the Super 8 stage, hammering New Zealand to set themselves on course for the next round and then seeing off Uganda and Papua New Guinea with ease to seal their spot in Group 1.

With a set of strengths that lend themselves to the Caribbean conditions, Afghanistan will be a major threat to the top-ranked nations throughout the remainder of the tournament, and first up comes this meeting with India in Barbados.

Rohit Sharma’s side cruised through relatively comfortably from Group A, but played all of their matches in the USA and will need to adjust quickly to the change of conditions in a game that may well define their Super Eight campaign.

India and Australia are the big favourites to progress to the Super Eight from this four-team group, but defeat here would put that in serious doubt ahead of meetings with Bangladesh and the Aussies on Saturday and Monday respectively.

India make one change, with Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Mohammed Siraj. For Afghanistan, Hazratullah Zazai comes in as a replacement for Karim Janat.

Rashid Khan was involved in all four wickets to fall in the first 11 overs. Captain Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 8 in the third over, caught by Rashid off the bowling of Fazalhaq Farooqi, and he was followed by Rishabh Pant at the end of the seventh over, lbw for 20.

The ever-dangerous Virat Kohli made 24 off as many balls before being caught by Mohammad Nabi off Rashid - leaving India on 75/3 after the first half of their innings.

And then Shivam Dube was Rashid's latest victim as the bowler called for a review of an lbw shout and was proved entirely correct with the ball in line to hit the top of middle and off stumps.

Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya then put on some fireworks. Suryakumar was as spectacular as ever, taking the lead with 53 off 28 balls, including five fours and three sixes, before mistiming another monumental heave off Farooqi into the hands of Nabi.

By the time he went, however, India were in the much more comfortable position of 150/5 thanks to that fourth-wicket partnership of 60 off 37 deliveries.

Hardik fell shortly afterwards, ending the 18th over with an end off Naveen-ul-Haq to the hands of Azmatullah Omarzai for a valuable 32.

And Ravindra Jadeja was caught by Gulbadin Naib off Farooqi in the penultimate over as he mistimed a short ball.

Axar Patel was the eighth and last to go, run out in the last ball of the innings as bowler Naveen raced him back to the stumps.

As Afghanistan began to muster their response, Bumrah impressed early on, tempting Rahmanullah Gurbaz into an edge which Pant was grateful to glove, and then deceiving Hazratullah Zazai with a wily cutter that leapt invitingly to Jadeja.

Axar Patel lured Ibrahim Zadran into a shot straight to the hands of Sharma for 8 - a wicket maiden for his opening over.

It combined to leave Afghanistan 23/3 in the fifth over.

Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib added a touch of stability before falling around the midway point - Naib to Kuldeep Yadav, caught once more by Pant, and Omarzai struggling with the turn from Jadeja, caught by Patel.

From there, the innings disintegrated. Bumrah got his third wicket in a delightful display by removing Najibullah Zadran with a terrific ball that stung the fingers of Arshdeep Singh, who courageously held on.

Nabi tried to push the run-rate on, hitting Kuldeep for six but then to the hands of Jadeja the very next ball.

Then Arshdeep was within tantalising grasp of a hat-trick, dismissing Rashid for 2 (caught by Jadeja again) and then Naveen for a duck, caught behind by Pant.

He did finish the innings in style, though, with Noor Ahmad holing him out in the very last ball to Sharma - meaning Afghanistan were all out for 134.


ICC
 
Lol such a waste this match was as expected.
Same script over and over again. hahahha
Afghanistan will never beat India. LOL
 
Definitely not the worst team. Ireland almost beat Pakistan and should've beaten USA too.

Canada beating Ireland was an upset.

For the record, Ireland is a Test nation.

Ireland had a shocker this time mate. Maybe not the worst team alongside UGN and PNG usually, but at this tournament, Ireland were absolutely terrible, and right down there near the bottom.
 
Lol such a waste this match was as expected.
Same script over and over again. hahahha
Afghanistan will never beat India. LOL
I wish Aus can follow scripts too, our tormentors, we keep doubling their IPL paycheques inspite of them not following scripts.
 
I wish Aus can follow scripts too, our tormentors, we keep doubling their IPL paycheques inspite of them not following scripts.
Seems like some hasn't gotten over that chennai thrashing at the hands of Afghanistan. India hasn't lost to any minnow since that 2007 fiasco.
 
I dont see India winning semi final. Kohli, Rohit out in powerplay and rest are mediocre and will choke under pressure. I don't understand why passenger Jadeja is playing when Axar is already there.
 
Wait for Afghanistan vs Bangladesh match .you will get your answer.
Same answer for Bangladesh. Apart from Australia, India, England, west indies and SA none of the teams seems worthy of playing in super 8.
 
Same answer for Bangladesh. Apart from Australia, India, England, west indies and SA none of the teams seems worthy of playing in super 8.
NZ would have been mauled had they made it. Their so out of it, some of them seem like they don't even know how to properly hold a cricket bat anymore such as Williamson lol.

Pakistan would have also been mauled. The team is in no condition to compete.

Only team that dissapoingly didn't make it was Sri lanka as they can pull a few upsets here and their and out the minnows in their place.

But otherwise the weakest links Bangaldesh, Afghanistan and USA fully deserve to go through over Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
 
Just like India vs Pakistan at World Cups apart from that Dubai anomaly

Can't expect Afghanistan to beat India when the might of Pakistan has a record of 1-15 against India in World Cups.

You are funny man. Even though im a pakistani … i still cant believe we actually WON a GAME in reduced overs wc … imagine how many cakes were cut and meet and greets by pakistan after that match.
 
Just like India vs Pakistan at World Cups apart from that Dubai anomaly

Can't expect Afghanistan to beat India when the might of Pakistan has a record of 1-15 against India in World Cups.
I’m certain just like BD Afghans will beat us faster than Pak did in WC.

Ironically we has lost one game in ODI wc to Afghans and one T20 to Pak in Wt20.
Bangla bros have a chance to make history again in T20
 
Just like India vs Pakistan at World Cups apart from that Dubai anomaly

Can't expect Afghanistan to beat India when the might of Pakistan has a record of 1-15 against India in World Cups.
Tbf, current Afghanistan washes Pakistan. None of these boys are playing farooqi or rashid. That's 8 overs of hell and frankly speaking, Noor Ahmed is also hell for these lads.

Azam, Saim, Usman, Fakhar, Babar, Rizwan, their all walking wickets.

Afghanistan has a better chance against India then Pakistan. Today SKY made the difference in batting, had sky not been their, this game would have been tight. Granted Bumrah is too much fir Afghani batters.

But 2024 and onwards Afghanistan is more then capable of pulling off an upset then 2024 Pakistan and onwards will be.

Pakistan is in no condition to beat India. Their best bet was NY, that's it. The pitch was the equaliser, but any other pitch including hone conditions of karachi and lahore, India knocks them into next week.
 
Tbf, current Afghanistan washes Pakistan. None of these boys are playing farooqi or rashid. That's 8 overs of hell and frankly speaking, Noor Ahmed is also hell for these lads.

Azam, Saim, Usman, Fakhar, Babar, Rizwan, their all walking wickets.

Afghanistan has a better chance against India then Pakistan. Today SKY made the difference in batting, had sky not been their, this game would have been tight. Granted Bumrah is too much fir Afghani batters.

But 2024 and onwards Afghanistan is more then capable of pulling off an upset then 2024 Pakistan and onwards will be.

Pakistan is in no condition to beat India. Their best bet was NY, that's it. The pitch was the equaliser, but any other pitch including hone conditions of karachi and lahore, India knocks them into next week.

Forget cricket… they are even scared go back HOME.
 
The Indian cricket team wore black armbands in honour of former fast bowler David Johnson who died on Thursday, during their T20 World Cup Super Eight match here against Afghanistan.

Johnson, who played two Tests for India in 1996, died after falling from his fourth-floor balcony in Bengaluru and the local police said they were in the process of determining if it was a case of suicide.

Both skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli came out to bat wearing black armbands.


NDTV
 
Afghanistan played some great cricket but they got a reality check against teams like India and West Indies. As good as they are, they still have ways to go. And the difference in skill-level and ability to handle pressure is still significant between Afghanistan and the top teams.
 
Afghanistan played some great cricket but they got a reality check against teams like India and West Indies. As good as they are, they still have ways to go. And the difference in skill-level and ability to handle pressure is still significant between Afghanistan and the top teams.
Afghanistan Middle order is not structured well enough in T20. There are some limitations. If you strategically bowl you can stifle them. Having said you still have to bat well against Afghanistan to beat them. If you implode like NZ did even good bowling cannot stop them.
 
Fighting daring Afghan completely goes missing the moment the game is against India. Any other team they are usually seen to be giving their heart out and performing and comes India, even not so strong one seems to always roll over Afghan. The fire passion they show say against Pakistan is never ever seen against India. The most predictable game of cricket is always this one result, Afghans never put any effort to win against India
 
Tbf, current Afghanistan washes Pakistan. None of these boys are playing farooqi or rashid. That's 8 overs of hell and frankly speaking, Noor Ahmed is also hell for these lads.

Azam, Saim, Usman, Fakhar, Babar, Rizwan, their all walking wickets.

Afghanistan has a better chance against India then Pakistan. Today SKY made the difference in batting, had sky not been their, this game would have been tight. Granted Bumrah is too much fir Afghani batters.

But 2024 and onwards Afghanistan is more then capable of pulling off an upset then 2024 Pakistan and onwards will be.

Pakistan is in no condition to beat India. Their best bet was NY, that's it. The pitch was the equaliser, but any other pitch including hone conditions of karachi and lahore, India knocks them into next week.

Pakistan did play the last T20 WC final. They gift wrapped the game to India when they were dominating 90% of the game and threw away an easy win against US by their usual one tournament upset game. Pakistan hasn't been performing well for a year now all down to Babar's lousy captaincy and parchi players. India was all over against Pak pace attack so let's not get carried away, India didn't win that game... It was Pakistan who simply threw it away
 
Fighting daring Afghan completely goes missing the moment the game is against India. Any other team they are usually seen to be giving their heart out and performing and comes India, even not so strong one seems to always roll over Afghan. The fire passion they show say against Pakistan is never ever seen against India. The most predictable game of cricket is always this one result, Afghans never put any effort to win against India
What do you call this?


This is just an illusion. India has resources to handle their weapon. Some teams don't have. Only on the other day Afghanistan was butchered by West Indies. noball, wide, misfields. So they have some collusion with West Indies?
 
Fighting daring Afghan completely goes missing the moment the game is against India. Any other team they are usually seen to be giving their heart out and performing and comes India, even not so strong one seems to always roll over Afghan. The fire passion they show say against Pakistan is never ever seen against India. The most predictable game of cricket is always this one result, Afghans never put any effort to win against India
Din't Afghanistan just get hammered by WI in their last game?
 
Din't Afghanistan just get hammered by WI in their last game?
The fact that they seriously believe that Afghanistan can magically alter their intensity level according to opposition is laughworthy. What is Rashid khan going to do? Control his turn? Infact this is best T20 figures of Rashid Khan against India. First time he even took a wicket against India in T20.
 
The fact that they seriously believe that Afghanistan can magically alter their intensity level according to opposition is laughworthy. What is Rashid khan going to do? Control his turn? Infact this is best T20 figures of Rashid Khan against India. First time he even took a wicket against India in T20.
Except for Pakistan no one can beat any opposition easily, if they do it is because the opponent lacked intensity. Afghanistan magically gain intensity when playing Pakistan but lose it against all the other oppositions. It is time for all Pakistan fans to realise the problem is that their team is not that great which is the reason it seems that way.
 
Afghanistan Middle order is not structured well enough in T20. There are some limitations. If you strategically bowl you can stifle them. Having said you still have to bat well against Afghanistan to beat them. If you implode like NZ did even good bowling cannot stop them.
I think Rashid Khan is a key point of difference. He is the best white-ball spinner in the world and is very consistent when it comes to delivering impactful performances. More of than not you will see him take control of the game when he comes on. Noor and Mujeeb are very good but regularly have off-days whereas Nabi feels like he is finished. I agree that you do have to bat well against them to win but you can still take them down if you quell Rashid and go after the others, like India did today.
 
I think Rashid Khan is a key point of difference. He is the best white-ball spinner in the world and is very consistent when it comes to delivering impactful performances. More of than not you will see him take control of the game when he comes on. Noor and Mujeeb are very good but regularly have off-days whereas Nabi feels like he is finished. I agree that you do have to bat well against them to win but you can still take them down if you quell Rashid and go after the others, like India did today.
Yes. This is why it is important for opposition to force him to bowl inside power play. You do that only by attacking other bowlers. But Faisal is bowling beautifully in this world cup. Leading the chart with 15 wickets. Because of that Rashid bowls at the right phase of the game complementing Noor. But if you disturb that structure they come apart. But it is not easy given that Naveen has evolved as well. You need combination of left/right batsmen to achieve that. Mujeeb is definitely a miss for them. Wrt India, India's major issue is left arm finger spinner which Afghanista doesn't have. India can handle other spinners easily.
 
Yes. This is why it is important for opposition to force him to bowl inside power play. You do that only by attacking other bowlers. But Faisal is bowling beautifully in this world cup. Leading the chart with 15 wickets. Because of that Rashid bowls at the right phase of the game complementing Noor. But if you disturb that structure they come apart. But it is not easy given that Naveen has evolved as well. You need combination of left/right batsmen to achieve that. Mujeeb is definitely a miss for them. Wrt India, India's major issue is left arm finger spinner which Afghanista doesn't have. India can handle other spinners easily.
Yeah they are missing Mujeeb big time. He was integral with the new-ball and very miserly. Even if the pacers went for runs, you could bank on him to provide some much needed control in the powerplay. Farooqi is a very good new ball swing bowler but seems to lose the plot when batters go after him and put him under pressure. Naveen I feel is still a bit limited. His best use is at the death when you need those cutters and slower balls. Mujeeb's absence and Nabi's decline in form has forced them to rethink their bowling plans. For me though Noor has been the most disappointing because he has not done justice to his talent and not made use of these conditions as well as he should have.
 
I don't think theres a quota but Jadeja is absolutely finished and is a massive liability.
That's the problem with the team management. They know who ever is finished and who are hiding behind seniority but happy to prolong them as though it's a national service
 
Yes. This is why it is important for opposition to force him to bowl inside power play. You do that only by attacking other bowlers. But Faisal is bowling beautifully in this world cup. Leading the chart with 15 wickets. Because of that Rashid bowls at the right phase of the game complementing Noor. But if you disturb that structure they come apart. But it is not easy given that Naveen has evolved as well. You need combination of left/right batsmen to achieve that. Mujeeb is definitely a miss for them. Wrt India, India's major issue is left arm finger spinner which Afghanista doesn't have. India can handle other spinners easily.
Yeah that's why India rarely have issues against Afghanistan. Because India is the best team when it comes to playing spin-bowling. What's shocking to me is how much Pakistan's ability to play spin well has declined. Sub-continental teams were always known for their prowess against spin and Pakistan has produced so many great players of spin over the years. But that no longer seems to be the case.
 
He will play out Bumrah and will smash the rest to oblivion.

Head always is at his best against India.
Head can't pick kd.He struggled in the match against delhibin ipl .Abhishek satma did the hitting there.But problem is rohit may take out kd as a precaution for finals rehearsal
 
Yeah that's why India rarely have issues against Afghanistan. Because India is the best team when it comes to playing spin-bowling. What's shocking to me is how much Pakistan's ability to play spin well has declined. Sub-continental teams were always known for their prowess against spin and Pakistan has produced so many great players of spin over the years. But that no longer seems to be the case.
Pakistan's playing good spinners well is a myth actually. They were good players of ordinary spin bowlers but struggled against good ones. Murali was always successful against Pakistan in Tests and so was Shane Warne. Both the greats struggled against India overall. We all know Pakistan's struggle against Herath. They had decent success against Anil but he wasn't big turner of the ball and was easier to negotiate on good tracks.
 
But that no longer seems to be the case.
As per sastri, sc players stopped playing first class cricket especially test matches at home.All of them are struggling as much as foreigners.You can see even in india, jaiswal,pant,sarfaraz are only good players of spin in test matches. Only rohit is the exception in other category but he learnt it from G R viswanath on dealing with spinners
 
Pakistan's playing good spinners well is a myth actually. They were good players of ordinary spin bowlers but struggled against good ones. Murali was always successful against Pakistan in Tests and so was Shane Warne. Both the greats struggled against India overall. We all know Pakistan's struggle against Herath. They had decent success against Anil but he wasn't big turner of the ball and was easier to negotiate on good tracks.
Maybe you should go back and watch Salim Malik absolutely schooling Shane Warne when he came to Pakistan. Or Miandad in his heyday. In the modern era, Younis Khan, Misbah, Inzamam were all excellent players of spin. Younis's performance during the 2005 tour of India is also something rarely seen by a batter touring India. Even when the likes of Kumble or Harbhajan got him out, it was usually after he had put them to the sword.

But Younis and Misbah were the last truly great players of spin. Even Malik who was a mediocre cricketer was a very good player of spin.
 
As per sastri, sc players stopped playing first class cricket especially test matches at home.All of them are struggling as much as foreigners.You can see even in india, jaiswal,pant,sarfaraz are only good players of spin in test matches. Only rohit is the exception in other category but he learnt it from G R viswanath on dealing with spinners
Could it be put down to too much cricket? But then they play so much limited overs cricket that they should be doing good against spin in the format, but I see many players struggling in that format.
 
Could it be put down to too much cricket? But then they play so much limited overs cricket that they should be doing good against spin in the format, but I see many players struggling in that format.
Yeah too much cricket ignoring first class. Odi matches are not played on 4 or 5th day pitches any more. Years of first class is different than few odis obviously
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As per sastri, sc players stopped playing first class cricket especially test matches at home.All of them are struggling as much as foreigners.You can see even in india, jaiswal,pant,sarfaraz are only good players of spin in test matches. Only rohit is the exception in other category but he learnt it from G R viswanath on dealing with spinners
Yes I think ultimately you can trace it all back to the lack of FC cricket and the proliferation of T20 cricket, which has allowed players be successful even if they compromise on skill or are bits and pieces cricketers.

In Pakistan's case, it probably has alot to do with the pitches for FC cricket. Which can go from being flat roads one season to being green tops the next. Because, there is no consistency, players are not allowed to develop properly or build on successes with each passing season. On top of that the regular changes in structure only add to the instability and sense of chaos.
 
Yes I think ultimately you can trace it all back to the lack of FC cricket and the proliferation of T20 cricket, which has allowed players be successful even if they compromise on skill or are bits and pieces cricketers.

In Pakistan's case, it probably has alot to do with the pitches for FC cricket. Which can go from being flat roads one season to being green tops the next. Because, there is no consistency, players are not allowed to develop properly or build on successes with each passing season. On top of that the regular changes in structure only add to the instability and sense of chaos.
I believe Pakistan has black soil pitches. This thread has discussioin on that.

 
I believe Pakistan has black soil pitches. This thread has discussioin on that.

Yeah but Pakistani pitches always behaved differently to Indian and Sri Lankan pitches. Even before international cricket left Pakistan, Pakistani pitches were known for being flat and usually got a bit livelier on the fourth and fifth days, with reverse swing being a factor throughout the test. Kaneria used to be Pakistan's lone spinner in Tests during the Inzamam era and would often bowl 30 or so overs in an innings with limited success. Yet we still produced some great players of spin.

I believe that the lack of consistency in pitches from one QeA Trophy season to the next as well as for home tests is what's ailing us right now.
 
Yeah but Pakistani pitches always behaved differently to Indian and Sri Lankan pitches. Even before international cricket left Pakistan, Pakistani pitches were known for being flat and usually got a bit livelier on the fourth and fifth days, with reverse swing being a factor throughout the test. Kaneria used to be Pakistan's lone spinner in Tests during the Inzamam era and would often bowl 30 or so overs in an innings with limited success. Yet we still produced some great players of spin.

I believe that the lack of consistency in pitches from one QeA Trophy season to the next as well as for home tests is what's ailing us right now.
Bounce rather lack of bounce is the issue

 
Rohit out of form, Kohli out of form… opening partnership failing, Arshdeep Singh not bowling good line and length… despite this India is winning….

Just imagine what will happens to opposition team if India fires all guns
 
Rohit out of form, Kohli out of form… opening partnership failing, Arshdeep Singh not bowling good line and length… despite this India is winning….

Just imagine what will happens to opposition team if India fires all guns
They been firing all cylinders and yet India hasn't won a tournament in a decade. Considering there are only a handful good cricket teams and there been numerous tournaments in past 10 years. The only performance that can actually make India lift trophy is of Bumrah's
 
Here we go again, win our group stages, get complacent and get bullied out in the knockout stages. Looks.like we have been following this pattern to the T. Only this time our openers have done nothing much and our wins in group stages haven't been convincing enough. Another non surprising standard would be to huff and puff and get a lucky win against Bangladesh. And then just wait for that choke in the semis.
 
Bound by mutual respect: SKY and Rashid Khan praise each other’s impact

Two of the standout performers in Thursday’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup fixture between India and Afghanistan were full of praise for one another, with Suryakumar Yadav and Rashid Khan both name-checking the other in their post-match interviews.

India batter SKY put in a player of the match display with an inspired 53 from 28 balls to help lift his side to a winning total of 181/8.

But perhaps the No.4’s most significant impact was in how he negotiated and took runs of Afghanistan’s key bowler, hitting 16 runs off the six deliveries he faced from Rashid Khan.

And speaking after the match, the world’s top-ranked T20I batter said that he was aware of the need to dominate against a player he describes as the world’s best bowler.

“When he bowls it’s very difficult to pick him, so I know what shots I want to play when I am inside,” SKY said.

“The best bowler in the world, you can’t let him dominate, you have to be a step ahead. But yeah I’m happy to be on a better side today.”

One particularly notable on-field interaction between the two players came when the bowler asked SKY to stop sweeping him, making a joking reference to the shot that helped India’s POTM dominate their mini-battle.

And speaking in his media conference, Rashid Khan was full of praise for his opponent's ability to control matches:

“In the middle overs Suryakumar came in, that’s how he plays, he changed the tempo of the game.

“I think that’s something which makes him the unique player: he believes in his skills, it doesn’t matter where he plays, whatever the conditions, that’s how much belief he has in his skills.”

India’s win puts them in a strong early position after the opening game of Group 1 of the Super Eights, with matches against Bangladesh and Australia to come.

Afghanistan will hope for a better showing with the bat in their next game against Australia, having fallen well short of their target of 182, being bowled out for 134.

ICC
 
Axar Patel (India player) post-match Press Conference - 20th June 2024

[Reporter:]

The plans went off accordingly and how was it to win here and get off to a good start and especially an unpredictable team like Afghanistan?

[Axar Patel:]

You can't say they are an unpredictable team. Many of the Afghanistan players have played league matches all over the world. So, I don't think they are an unpredictable team. But you have to be more accurate against these teams because you never know what they can do on a particular day. So, I think that was the plan. We must stick with our basics, not thinking about what they can do, what their plans are. We are just sticking to our basics and our plans and that works.

[Reporter:]

When you bowl after a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah, how much confidence and morale do you have?

[Axar Patel:]

See, obviously Jasprit Bumrah is a world class bowler, and you know that with the quality of bowlers we have in our side - we can get out of a tough situation. So, at that time you have to think about what you have, what is your strength, what are your weaknesses. So don't think much about what the other bowler did, like you said in partnerships we should bowl like this. I was just thinking that on this wicket what works for me. Like, after 1-2 balls, I realised that if I change the pace and length, it is better on this wicket. That’s what I was doing.

I was not thinking that he has bowled so well from the other end, I will have to do this and that. If I think that way, I am putting more pressure on myself. I was thinking how I can give my best in this situation. That was my plan and I was bowling with that thinking.

[Reporter:]

Axar, you are one of the few bowlers who have a good record against Surya Kumar. What do you do?

[Axar Patel:]

See, in T20 it is very important for you to be ahead. How you think ahead of the batsman, what you plan is very important. If the batsman is thinking to hit you, obviously you watch videos, so I think where he can hit me for runs and where he can hit me on my strength. So, I cover all those bases and according to that I put the ball. And I predict that I think he will go to hit a sweep shot or do something else. So, I mix it up in my line length. For the sweep shot, you need a length ball. If you don't have that ball, I try to put a fuller one so that he is uncomfortable. I think that's the plan. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Obviously, the batsman also comes and thinks - he also watches the online videos. So, yeah, that's the plan I have, whenever I bowl. If I bowl in front of a good batsman, then this is my plan.

[Reporter:]

Now too many teams choose to go with three left arm spinners. And probably this will be the go-to through the World Cup I'm guessing if the wickets are like this. How does it work? How do you plan and go about it and what's the thought process like for the three of you together?

[Axar Patel:]

I think the thought process, obviously the captain and coach will tell us what their thought process is. My thought process is, as a left arm spinner, I know what my role is. I can bowl in the powerplay, middle or towards the last, in the 16th or 15th over. I know my role well. I can be called by the captain in any situation. My plan is to know what the team needs at that time. If I feel that I need to attack at this time, I need to take wickets, then I plan in that way what I can do. And if I feel that, like in Pakistan, when I came to bowl the 16th over, I felt that if I give less runs in this over, it will be very good for the team.

So, basically according to the situation, I plan my bowling and as you said there are 3 left arm spinners, so obviously the wickets here, I feel there is an advantage. There are 3 left-arm spinners out of which we have 2 finger spinners and 1 wrist spinner. I have played with all of them very well. I think the combination of the three of us is very good. We have a good team. We communicate well. Like whoever comes to bowl first, we communicate what is working and what is not. I think that is very important when you bowl as a bowling unit.

[Reporter:]

Axar, 3 for 7 in 4 overs is an outstanding performance, particularly in a Super 8 game. But what is the perspective of the Indian team? When there is debriefing in the team, what do they talk about bowling? What do they analyse?

[Axar Patel:]

When there is debriefing, it is obvious that everyone can see the things on the scorecard, like you said 4 overs, 7 runs, 3 wickets and who has 2 wickets, last time Arshdeep had 4 overs, 9 runs, 4 wickets. So, all that is seen in the scorecard. When debriefing happens, it is like small things like crucial moments, who is doing good in that, who is not doing good. So, all those things are discussed.

Obviously, the one who has a good day, he does it. But, in a crucial situation, who has done good, that is 1 or 2 overs. In T20, it is a 1 or 2 overs game. Either the game goes that way or this way. So, in the debriefing, in that particular moment, obviously, you didn't have a good day, but you controlled it. Like, you could have gone for 20 runs, but you stopped it at 10 runs or 12 runs. Or in a particular over, in a death over, it's good that the yorker was executed, so all these things happen and planning is obviously what happens what to do next, this match is over, now who is next and according to that we make plans.

[Reporter:]

What do you think about Bumrah's bowling?

[Axar Patel:]

I don't think anyone talks much about Bumrah's bowling He has an idea of what to do and what not to do. So I think when it is going so well, I don't think the bowling coach is giving so much input that there is some confusion in his mind. He just says that you are doing well, whatever thinking you are doing is also going well. So, I think, as much as I have seen, the bowling coach doesn't interfere much. He says this during planning that whatever your mindset is, it is clear, so just execute your plans.

[Reporter:]

You said that it's not right to call Afghanistan's team unpredictable. You face them a lot in IPL. We are their fans and we feel that they can win anything. But as an opposition player or team, how serious do you take when you face them? Do you think you can go ahead in this tournament or any other major tournament?

[Axar Patel:]

As an opposition, I think this team can go ahead. I think in the coming years, I think this team will do better. And obviously, like you said, how do you take the opponent team? If a team has reached the Super 8, obviously, they have done well. It's not like they won a couple of matches with a fluke or something.

So, I think everyone who has come to the Super 8 has come with their because of hard work. Everyone has defeated good teams and come to the Super 8. Even then I said that you can't say unpredictable. And as an opposition, the talent they have, as much as we see, as a batsman, bowling, earlier the bowling unit was so good, now the batsmen are also playing a very good role. And they are continuously performing. So, I think in the coming years, this team can do better and can move forward. They have that talent and hunger to do better and take Afghanistan forward.

So, I think the main thing is how you can take the team forward along with yourself. I also talked to senior players like Rashid Khan and Nabi. They ask me about how they can improve day by day. They talk to Indian players a lot when they are in IPL, what they can do new and what not. So, they learn all this. I think when they play for Afghanistan, they motivate the other players, and it is important for them to think ahead. Your senior players can teach the youngster what is there and what is not. I think as an opposition they can do more in the coming years.
 
Jonathan Trott (Afghanistan Coach) post-match Press Conference - 20th June 2024

[Reporter:]

What are your thoughts on the shot selection from the batters, especially Gurbaz up against Bumrah and overall, the batting effort?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Yeah, obviously disappointed with a few of the shots or the decision making. Obviously, Bumrah is going to be a key bowler for any side. So, for India, he's crucial and we needed to play him better. His figures suggest we didn't play him very well. We'd obviously spoken about it and how we were going to play him. So, we weren't able to execute that and, yeah, that's very disappointing. And I know there are a lot of or a few batters or most of them are thinking they could have done a bit better with their decision making but also execution.

[Reporter:]

Rashid was your main bowler and he lived up to the expectation. But your thoughts on his bowling, what he did right? And apart from that, he finished his quota by 14th over. You think he was not bowling in the most difficult overs?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Well, I think it's important when you have a hunch and you want to attack and you bowl three overs for 26, I think no matter when you bowl you've done a good job. So whenever Rash bowls, whenever Rash turns the game around like he did for us today, I think it's brilliant. It's not just one bowler. Other people have to bowl the 16 other overs to be bowled. And it's the responsibility of other bowlers to be able to execute the plans that we put in place, which is crucial, especially on a pitch like this where we can set ourselves something that's attainable. So, I thought Rash bowled brilliantly today. And he has high expectations of himself and he delivered today. Everybody else, could follow suit. That would be great.

[Reporter:]

I think you kind of touched upon that yourself as well, but I just wanted you to, if you could expand. Don't you think When it comes to purely taking wickets, the side probably depends a bit too much on Fazal and Rashid, don't you think the others need to chip in as well, in terms of wicket taking?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Well, wicket taking I think, and certainly T20 and these types of wickets, comes from creating pressure. So, you need to find a way to create pressure or a way to sort of not get hurt on types of wickets like this where there's a short boundary and with the wind. So, you need to be able to execute and get yourselves, if you're not getting wickets, you're not leaking for too many runs. So, for me, we just weren't able to do that. We were a little bit in between. And then the plans that we did have, we weren't able to execute, which releases the pressure on the Indian batsmen. I thought the way that Suryakumar played was very good. We needed somebody to play that type of innings and we just didn't have anybody to come in and do that.

[Reporter:]

As you had asked earlier about Rashid completing his spell a little early, was that, did that have a lot to do with Suryakumar going the way he was going and you had to like bowl your best bowler at that time?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Look, I think when the captain decides when he bowls, I don't have a problem with the way Rashid finished and when he did. If he had taken another wicket or if he had got Pandya out last ball, we would be sitting here saying it's a masterstroke. So, I think hindsight is a fantastic thing. I don't think Rashid finishing the game or finishing his bowling in the 14th over is the problem why we lost the game. No, I'm just saying, I'm saying it's not the reason why Rashid finished in the 14th. There's other 16 overs where people have got to bowl better. So, I've absolutely no qualms and yeah, that's my answer.

[Reporter:]

We all know that Rashid Khan is a brilliant spinner.

[Jonathan Trott:]

Do you want Rashid to do the press conference?

[Reporter:]

No, no, I have a question for you about Rashid Khan. And it just happens that he happens to be here. But what, in your opinion, makes Rashid Khan a genius and a brilliant spinner? How would you dissect out his brilliance?

[Jonathan Trott:]

I think with all great players, that's a lot of the time it's what they do off the field that's not in front of the cameras and the way they conduct themselves. And obviously, Rash is sitting here and he won't mind me saying, but setting high standards for themselves that take others with them and inspire other people. And work ethic, desire, ability to listen and learn, and always wanting to grow and discover, try new deliveries, and push the boundaries on your own game. Sometimes I think as players, and at times I was maybe like this as a player, you try and hold on to what you have and you don't want to grow as a player, you try and protect what you've got. I wish I had pushed myself with regards to testing my game and pushing the boundaries on what I could achieve as a player. I think Rashid sets a great example for that for all younger players, not only in Afghanistan but around the world and in India and the IPL and across the globe so yeah that's all I can say really and he bowls pretty well as well.

[Reporter:]

How would you assess the pitch here at Kensington Oval?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Well, I think it played a little better than we'd seen in previous games. I thought the bounce was a little bit more consistent for the seamers, but obviously in Caribbean style, you'd want to see a little bit more pace on the pitch. But that's the characteristics of the West Indies, and we've got to adjust to that. We go to St Vincent's now, and I'm sure that we've seen the pitch there, and I presume it'll be a little bit similar. But that's the World Cup. You've got to turn up and play on what you're given and you've got to beat the other side on the conditions that you're presented with. And we've got to do that against Australia in two days' time. And I fully believe we can do that and as long as we learn from today and we apply ourselves better in the areas that we've discussed and we execute better.
 
The fact that they seriously believe that Afghanistan can magically alter their intensity level according to opposition is laughworthy

It's called Coping Mechanism.

Afghanistan makes them toil every time and even managed to humiliate them in the last ODI world cup, so they have a high opinion of them. But what they chose to ignore is that Pakistan is a mid tier team on its good day and makes teams look better than they actually are.

Even yesterday, Afghanistan looked like they were "playing at a high intensity" up until Dube's wicket. But SKY and Pandya pulled it back for us. Some teams do not have the players to do that and their fans resort to conspiracies out of bitter desperation. :)
 
Did Afg put their usual 40% effort they do vs India?
Yes they put in same 40% effort they put in against Pakistan in ODI worldcup 2023.
Difference was opposition. India made it look 40%...Pakistan made it look 200%

Now imagine if Afghanistan put in 100%
 
Back
Top