India will take on Afghanistan in their final Super Four fixture of the 2018 Asia Cup on September 25. The Asian giants have already secured their spot in final of the tournament by defeating Bangladesh and Pakistan, in the previous fixtures.
Being the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far, India are the team to beat. After a shaky start against Hong Kong in the group stage, India went on to register a comfortable win against Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Men in Blue trashed Pakistan in the Super Four encounter, which confirmed their berth in the final of the tournament.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, started the series with two wins in the group stage, but since then lost their form and were handed back-to-back defeats by Pakistan and Bangladesh. The two losses mean Afghanistan can't qualify for the final, but they would be playing for pride and would want to cause a major upset against the biggest team in the tournament.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were pick of the bowlers against Pakistan in the Super Four stage as they each picked up two wickets. The trio managed to restrict Pakistan to 238/7. In reply, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma slammed magnificent centuries to steer India comfortably home to a 9-wicket win.
However, Afghanistan's match in the Super Four stage against Bangladesh was a close fought one, with The Tigers scraping a three-run victory.
Possible XI
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shazad, Ihsanullah, Rahamat Shah, Hashmatull Shahidiah, Asghar Afghan (C), Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam
Players to watch
Shikhar Dhawan: Playing in white ball cricket is always fun for Dhawan. After facing troubles in Test cricket against England, Dhawan got his form back to hitting back-to-back centuries in this series. Dhawan can take the game away from the opposition quickly with his aggressive batting.
Rashid Khan: The globe trotting leg spinner is the face of Afghanistan cricket. On his day, he can test the best batting lineup. With eight wickets he is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. India should be wary of the spinner as he knows quite a few Indian batsmen having featured in the Indian Premier League.
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