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Following a reasonably successful tour of South Africa, Team India will begin their home season with a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The opening encounter is set to be played at Mohali on January 11, and the series will be India's only T20I assignment before the World Cup in June.
India's recent T20I form has been inconsistent, with a drawn series in South Africa and a shocking defeat in the West Indies mixed with wins against Australia and Ireland.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan are coming off a final run in the Asian Games, the high of a magnificent showing in the ODI World Cup and the recent T20I series win against the UAE.
Despite never tasting victory against India in T20Is, the Afghans thrive on upsetting top-ranked oppositions in the 20-over format, evidenced by their 2-1 series win against Pakistan last year.
India will start as favorites but will be wary of the firepower and the numerous match-winners in the Afghanistan ranks. On that note, here are three things India must do to defeat Afghanistan in the opening T20I.
# 1 Indian batters must win the battle against the formidable Afghanistan spin attack
It is no secret that Afghanistan's best bet to cause an upset will be unleashing their world-class spinners against the Indian batters. Despite the absence of their talisman, Rashid Khan, the Afghans still possess several tweakers in their armor to wreak havoc.
In Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Noor Ahmad, the visitors boast a trio with experience on Indian pitches thanks to the IPL. Add to that the leggie Qais Ahmad, the leading wicket-taker in their recent series win over the UAE, and Afghanistan have a spin quartet like very few teams.
Another advantage for Afghanistan is the ability of their spinners to operate at different stages of the innings. While Mujeeb usually shores up the powerplay, the other three, especially Noor and Qais, can bowl in the middle and even the latter part of the innings.
However, they will do well to remember the beat-down Indian skipper Rohit Sharma dished out with his 131 off 84 deliveries in their 2023 World Cup encounter. The matchup between him and Mujeeb in the first few overs could go a long way in dictating the game's outcome.
The off-spinner castled the Indian captain in the 2019 World Cup meeting between the sides, and India struggled the rest of the way, scoring only 224 in their 50 overs.
Without Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya, the other Indian batters will have a stiff challenge, having not faced the Afghan spinners much in their careers. Hence, winning the battle against the prolific Afghan spinners could be more than half the game won for the Men in Blue.
# 2 Spin to win: Indian tweakers must maximize bigger boundaries at Mohali against Afghanistan power hitters
With only three specialist pacers and as many as four spinners, India should field a spin-heavy playing XI in the opening fixture at Mohali. The massive boundaries at the venue offer India the ideal opportunity to use possibly their three spinners wisely against the Afghanistan power hitters.
Renowned more for clearing boundaries for maximums over deft touches, the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, and Azmatullah Omarzai are as dangerous as they come on their day.
Yet, if India use the wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi against the big-hitting trio, the boundary dimensions at Mohali could see them hole out in the deep.
Rohit Sharma will do well to have the wits about him and keep plenty of overs of the spinners intact for the Afghanistan middle and lower order. Winning that match-up will almost certainly ensure the derailing of the visitors' batting innings and enhance the Indian chances of victory.
# 3 Dismiss the dangerous Rahmanullah Gurbaz early
Despite several batters growing in stature in the Afghanistan side, the key to their success still revolves heavily around the form of wicket-keeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The 22-year-old was the leading run-scorer with 141 runs at an average of 47 in their recent T20I series win against UAE. Even in Afghanistan's most impressive series win in T20Is against Pakistan last year, Gurbaz was their leading run-getter.
Fast forward from that series to the ODI World Cup, and it was half-centuries from Gurbaz that helped Afghanistan pull off their two most impressive wins against England and Pakistan.
His ability to score rapidly against any bowling makes him a dangerous proposition on a given day. Team India have done well to shut him down to an average of under 10 in their two recent T20I wins against Afghanistan.
And they will have to continue that trend to ensure Afghanistan doesn't get off to a fast start and free up their powerful middle order.
Gurbaz's impact in Afghanistan's matches is apparent as he averages almost 31 at a strike rate of over 138 in their T20I wins, but the average slips to under 20 in their defeats.
Considering that, it is paramount that the inexperienced Indian pacers are on the money right away against the talented Afghanistan opener.
