Indian batters vs Afghanistan spinners battle to decide winner of high-octane T20 World Cup clash, claims Dinesh Karthik

Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik feels that India's batting against Afghanistan's spinners will be a great battle to watch out for. India will play its opening Super Eight match against Afghanistan on June 20 in Barbados.

India qualified for the Super Eights as the topper of Group A, winning three out of their four matches while one game was washed out due to poor weather conditions in Florida. Meanwhile, Afghanistan have been in good form as well. They won three matches but lost one game to West Indies in the group stage.

Also read: Kuldeep Yadav's fate in T20 World Cup sealed by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid ahead of the Super 8 clash vs Afghanistan

Dinesh Karthik picks the battle to watch out for in India's first Super Eight clash

During a query on Cricbuzz, Karthik was asked about his views on India having an advantage in their Super Eight clash against Afghanistan.

"India plays most of its matches in the morning in America so that it's nighttime in India and all of us get to watch it. The fact that we are playing a day game is an added advantage in terms of picking wrist spin but at the same time, the pitches have been slightly tough to bat on. So, advantage Afghanistan as well because their spinners would come into the game much more than it would have been if it would have been played on any other part of the world," Karthik replied to the query.

"It's going to be a great game, I can promise you that. Indian batters vs Afghanistan spinners, great game to start the Super Eight!" the former wicketkeeper-batter added.

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India has a strong batting line-up but they have managed a highest score of just 119 in three games so far. The Men in Blue have played all three games in New York, which proved to be extremely difficult for the batters. They will expect big runs from their star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Meanwhile, Afghanistan has played two matches in Guyana while one each at Trinidad and St. Lucia. All of these were night games, which means their opening Super Eight fixture will be their first-day game of the tournament. Afghanistan has skillful spinners like Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi in the squad, who can be dangerous on their day.

India vs Afghanistan head-to-head record

India and Afghanistan have been up against each other eight times in T20I cricket in which India have won seven games while one game ended in a tie earlier this year. India won the tied game through the Super Over.

In the T20 World Cups, both these teams have faced each other on three occasions and India has emerged victorious in all of them. Both of these teams haven't played any game in Barbados this tournament, which makes it a new territory for both of them.

After the clash against Afghanistan, the Men in Blue will move to Antigua for their second Super Eight match against Bangladesh. India will conclude its Super Eight stage with a high-octane clash against 2021 champions Australia in St. Lucia.