India look to extend dominance against Afghanistan's spin attack

India have Afghanistan have met just once in the past. They played against each other in the 2014 Asia Cup where India floored them by 8 wickets under Virat Kohli's leadership

Continuing their unbeaten streak in the ongoing Asia Cup, India will take the field today against Afghanistan to extend their dominance in the final match of the Super Four stage at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.

India had already confirmed their spot in the finale after hammering Pakistan by 9 wickets on Sunday. Today’s game against Afghanistan may witness stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma trying out with the players who were benched so far in the tournament.

Likeable changes in the Indian playing XI

If Rohit and Shastri fall on the same page to shuffle the players for their penultimate game, KL Rahul and Manish Pandey could get a look-in in the middle order. As far as the bowling department is concerned, Khaleel Ahmad may be included back along with Deepak Chahar to give Bhuvneshwar and Jasprit the much-needed rest ahead of the final.

At the same time, India is unlikely to experiment with the opening combination which is enjoying the purple patch.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will lead the spin department that includes the wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

Unfortunate Afghanistan

After entering the Super four stage, Afghanistan lost both their matches marginally. Since they are already out of contention for the final, they have nothing to lose. Since they will be aiming to end the tournament on a high but it will surely be a hard nut to crack, considering India's current red-hot form.

Afghanistan will be once again banking on their strong batting to put a big total on the board before unleashing their spin trio of Mohammed Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan to have a go at the mighty Indian line-up.

Afghanistan's one major concern will be their lack of experience to handle high-pressure situations that led them to two narrow losses in the Super Four stage.

Head-on battles

India have Afghanistan have met just once in the past. They played against each other in the 2014 Asia Cup where India floored them by 8 wickets under Virat Kohli's leadership.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, K. Khaleel Ahmed.

Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan (Captain), Mohammad Shahzad, Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shenwari, Munir Ahmad, Sayed Shirzad, Sharafuddin Ashraf.