When the two teams face off on October 11 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi for their second group stage match of the ODI World Cup 2023, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has voiced confidence in his team’s ability to handle the Indian spinners.
In their opening match of the competition, Afghanistan and Bangladesh battled it out in Dharamsala. Their batting order struggled to get going and ultimately fell apart for just 156 runs. Afghanistan’s batting lineup had a difficult time thanks to Bangladesh’s unrelenting Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Afghanistan, still smarting from their initial loss to Bangladesh, is searching for their first tournament points, while India is hoping to keep up their momentum after a difficult match against Australia in Chennai.
Afghanistan is bracing itself for India’s powerful spinners despite being taken aback by the spin capabilities of the Bangladeshi spinners.
“You know, during net sessions, we play better spin. We play Rashid Khan, Nabi Muhammad, Noor Ahmad, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman every day, according to Hashmatullah Shahidi.
“I believe that our team is much, much superior at playing spin bowling than it demonstrated against Bangladesh in Dharamsala. We struggled in that game, but you can’t judge your ability based solely on one performance. We know we can play spinners better and will try to return in the next game, but that game is over now. ESPNcricinfo used a quote from Shahidi.
He underlined how crucial it was for his batters to handle pressure and record a respectable total. Given the ardent support India is anticipated to receive from the home crowd, he stressed the need of handling pressure efficiently when asked about the upcoming confrontation with India.
We have the potential and the ability to come back in the upcoming game and for the remainder of the tournament. We must overcome the crowd pressure since India will play in front of a sizable crowd against us, Hashmatullah Shahidi remarked.