Asia Cup 2018: Super Four, Match 5, India vs Afghanistan, Match Prediction - Who will win the match?

After a promising start to their Asia Cup campaign, Afghanistan certainly started dreaming of winning the title this time, but their inexperience showed up and ended up sabotaging their ambitions. But that takes nothing away from how spirited a performance they showcased throughout the tournament.

India, on the other hand, started off on a very poor note, almost losing to the minnows Hong Kong. But the way they fought back and annihilated Pakistan and Bangladesh was an answer to the questions raised over the quality of their side and their ability to play in the absence of Kohli.

With Bangladesh edging out Afghanistan the other day, this game will be nothing more than a dead-rubber. But for Asghar Afghan‘s men, they’d come out all guns blazing in a bid to win their first International game against the Men in Blue.

Pitch

The penultimate game in Dubai will not see any difference in the pitch behavior and it’s pretty evident after the game between India and Pakistan that the pitch might remain slightly dead. Yet, the slowness will help the spinners a tad bit, but the fast bowlers will have to work for their wickets.

Playing Combinations

Afghanistan

Mohammad Shahzad and Ihsanullah Janat will take guard to initiate the innings for the Afghans. Coming in at number three will be the in-form Rahmat Shah with Asghar Afghan, Hasmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi following him.

The heart and soul of this bowling attack is their spin bowling duo of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan. The Tigers will have a torrid time attempting to survive through their 20 overs. Gulabadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi are the other bowling options for the skipper Asghar Afghan.

Predicted XI

Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam

India

The skipper Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will be opening the innings as always, with Ambati Rayudu coming in at number three. KL Rahul might be making an appearance in place of Dinesh Karthik and will accompany Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle order.

All eyes will be on Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as they are the strongest weapons Rohit has at his disposal. Ravindra Jadeja will be the third major spinning option. Bhuvneshwar Kumar might be rested for this game and Bumrah’s fast bowling partner for the day will be Khaleel Ahmed.

Predicted XI

Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), KL Rahul, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Probable Top Performers

Kedar Jadhav – India | Mohammad Shahzad – Afghanistan

The prediction is for India to triumph and maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament.