ICC 2023: India and Afghanistan are facing off in a pivotal World Cup match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. India enters the game with a victory over Australia by six wickets in their previous match, while Afghanistan suffered a six-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka. Afghanistan’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, won the toss and elected to bat. India made one change in their lineup, bringing in Shardul Thakur in place of R Ashwin.
ICC 2023
This match has generated significant excitement as it marks a face-off between Virat Kohli and Naveen ul Haq. These two players had a highly publicized altercation during the IPL 2023 season. Following the LSG vs. RCB match, tensions flared, and Naveen ul Haq continued to taunt Virat Kohli with mango-themed tweets each time RCB faced a defeat. Fans are eagerly anticipating the showdown between Virat Kohli and Naveen ul Haq.
Afghanistan players are wearing black armbands as a tribute to the victims of a tragic earthquake in Afghanistan. Both Indian and Afghan players observed a two-minute silence in honor of the earthquake’s victims before the match. It’s worth noting that more than 1,000 people lost their lives in a devastating earthquake that struck Afghanistan just days before the match.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian team, expressed his thoughts at the toss, saying, “We were looking to bat second. We saw the amount of dew last evening. Don’t think the wicket will change much. Need to bowl well and need to come back and bat better. We were under pressure (against Australia) to start with, but KL and Kohli batted well, they were magnificent, and we take a lot of pride in our performance. It was a good game for us, hopefully we can repeat that and keep the momentum going forward. Ashwin misses out, Shardul Thakur comes in for him.”
On the other hand, Afghanistan’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, explained his decision, stating, “We will bat first. It looks like a good batting surface. We have a good bowling attack to restrict them. It looks like a good surface, we want to bounce back with the bat. We are enjoying, good chance to showcase our talent. We are going with the same team.”
