T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan vs India Best Bets

The third game of the Super 8s will see pre-tournament favourites, India take on Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday. It’s a crucial game for both teams as they look to boost their chances of a semi-final spot with a win. Let’s look at the betting preview and the best bets to take for this game.

Venue: Kensington Oval Barbados

Betting Preview

With formidable Australia and unpredictable Bangladesh in the mix, both Afghanistan and India understand that a loss here could severely dent their progression hopes. Afghanistan started strong with three decisive wins, including a 125-run thrashing of Uganda and a comprehensive victory over New Zealand. However, their momentum was halted with a heavy 104-run defeat to the West Indies, marking their second-largest T20I loss. This setback just before the Super 8s could affect their chances of advancing further.

Despite the recent stumble, Afghanistan’s early tournament form, where they bowled out opponents for under 100 in three games, provides a solid foundation. They’ll need to tighten up during the powerplays and death overs after conceding heavily against the West Indies.

India, meanwhile, have the added pressure of high expectations and a need to break their ICC tournament drought. Their lineup, featuring struggling opener Virat Kohli, faces scrutiny as they aim to secure a crucial win to avoid a must-win scenario against Australia. This game could set the tone for India’s campaign, with the team needing to focus on overcoming their batting issues, particularly on surfaces that haven’t favoured key players like Shivam Dube so far.

Overall, both teams face a crucial encounter that could shape their Super 8s journey. Afghanistan will look to reclaim their early form, while India must address their batting concerns to keep their tournament hopes alive. This should be a tightly- contested encounter, despite what the odds tell you, but India should have enough quality to win this game.

Players to Watch: One of the stars for eventual IPL winners this season Rahmanullah Gurbaz averages 88 at a scoring rate of 8.38rpo in all T20s against India’s last bowling attack, with Axar Patel (1/7) the only one to dismiss him. Another player who’s awaiting this game could be Rohit Sharma, who averages just 11.8 (71/6) in the IPL against Afghanistan’s last bowling attack, but a very healthy 98 (196/2) in ODIs and T20Is. That could fuel his ambition to reverse his diminishing returns in the tournament of 52*, 13, and 3.

Prediction: India to win at 1.19.

Key Stats

As a collective, Afghanistan’s last top seven averaged just 25 with the bat at a strike rate of 117 against India’s last six bowlers in all T20Is.

On the other hand, India’s last top seven averaged 115 at a strike rate of 181 in T20Is against Afghanistan’s last bowling attack.

Virat Kohli averages more than 65 (262/4) in all T20s against the seven bowlers Afghanistan used in their last match, in addition to 85 in ODIs.

Rashid Khan is the only bowler to have dismissed Kohli twice in all T20s but came into this game averaging 52 against him (2-104).

Spinners Axar Patel and Shivam Dube are the only members of India’s previous bowling attack to have dismissed Azmatullah Omarzai in a T20.

Najibullah Zadran averages less than seven (20/3) in all internationals against India’s last bowling attack.

Rashid Khan has collective figures of 4/55 from 40 balls bowled to Rohit Sharma in all T20s.

Rishabh Pant averaged more than 46 (185-4) in all T20s against Afghanistan’s last bowling attack prior to today, including 56.5 against Rashid Khan.

Suryakumar Yadav came into this match averaging 78.5 at a strike rate of 139 against Afghanistan’s last bowling attack in T20s, having scored 86 runs off Rashid Khan without a single dismissal.

Best Bets

Best Bet: Highest individual score to be over 59.5 at 1.86.

Alternative Bet: Virat Kohli to score over 27.5 runs at 1.86.