Against Afghanistan, the middle-overs, during which the peerless Rashid Khan operates, will be crucial. Along with Gulbadin Naib, who bowls wicket-to-wicket steady medium pace with an occasional ‘heavy ball’, India might want to play those overs with caution. They would look to attack Afghan seamers primarily in their bid to ramp up the scoring. Kohli would like to chase under lights with dew setting in but if he bats first, a middling score of 145 to 155 could possibly spell trouble in case Shahzad starts finding a few off the middle of his bat. This will be one match where if India wins, they won’t get any credit but if they lose, all hell will break loose.
