One of the title contenders, India's match against Afghanistan could well be a glorified net session in which they would like to put up a resounding performance that not only eases their passage to the semi-final but also ensures a good net run-rate.
Afghanistan's controversial campaign, marred by poor on and off-field decisions, has gone from bad to worse. And they now face the onerous task of squaring off against a galaxy of world class players, whose performance graph is on the upswing.
Toss Update:
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has won the toss and has decided to bat first. There is just one change in the squad; Mohammad Shami comes in to replace injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
“Looks like a really good wicket. Nice and hard. Beautiful day to play cricket. One forced change. Bhuvi out and Shami in. Vijay showed a lot of composure in the last game. Brings balance with bat and ball and he's good as anyone in the world in the field. Whether we're playing a team which is very strong or a team coming up the ranks, our mindset is the same. Can't take Afghanistan lightly. Dangerous side when they get in the groove. Can't take any team lightly in the World Cup. Focus is within our group, what we want to do,” said Kohli at the toss.
Afghanistan have made two changes in the playing XI. Noor Ali and Dawlat Zadran have replaced by Hazratullah Zazai and Aftab Alam respectively.
“Wanted to bat first. It will be a long day, looking forward to the end of the day. Noor Ali not playing, Hazrat in the side. Dawlat also not playing, Aftab in the side. Happy with batting performance against England, playing the fifty overs,” said Afghan skipper Gulbadin Naib.
Here are the Playing XIs:
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib(c), Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Ali Khil(w), Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
India: Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah