Already 2-0 ahead in the three-match T20I series, India will be aiming to whitewash Afghanistan when they lock horns at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
This will be the last T20I series played by India before the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup as they will lock horns with England in a five-match Test series followed by the 2024 IPL season.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, will lock horns with Sri Lanka and Ireland in an all-format series which will also involve T20I matches before the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
India may field an experimental side on Wednesday as this is going to be their last T20I encounter before the World Cup. Virat Kohli and Jitesh Sharma might make way for Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson. Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Yadav could come in for Mukesh Kumar and Axar Patel.
Afghanistan has been struggling without Rashid Khan but would like to stick with an unchanged lineup for the third T20I against India with the hope of winning the dead-rubber contest.
What have they done so far?
Hosts India came into this series on the back of a successful 4-1 thrashing of Australia by a second-string Indian side led by Suryakumar Yadav followed by a 1-1 draw against South Africa where the first of the three T20Is was washed out due to rain.
Afghanistan recently played out a 3-match T20I series against UAE where the Afghans were missing a few key players but managed to eke out wins in the first and the third T20I in order to clinch the trophy.
In the second match between Afghanistan and India, the former scored 172 runs while batting first. Gulbadin Naib’s 57-run knock from 35 balls was the only performance to cross the 30-run mark.
After Rohit Sharma got out to a golden duck, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli gave India a fiery start in the powerplay. Kohli got out after contributing 29 runs from 16 balls but that only unleashed the dangerous-looking Shivam Dube. Jaiswal and Dube both reached their 60s to help India seal a win with 26 balls to spare.
Head to Head record
India and Afghanistan have squared off against each other six times in the past with the latter yet to pick up a win over the former. India has gained the upper hand five times with one match ending in a no result.
Key Players
Shivam Dube: Shivam Dube showed no mercy in the second T20I as he dispatched Afghanistan bowlers for five boundaries and four sixes to remain unbeaten at a score of 63 runs from 32 balls.
In the first T20I, he remained unbeaten at 60 runs off 40 balls to help his side chase a target of 159 runs under 18 overs. Dube has been a great find in the middle order and another half-century would surely book his World Cup ticket.
Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled Rohit Sharma for a golden duck in the previous match
Fazalhaq Farooqi: Fazalhaq Farooqi continues to stamp his dominance on a spin-dominated Afghan bowling line-up as he remains economical from one end to allow the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan to weave their magic from the other end.
The Indian batters took the rest of the Afghanistani bowlers all over the park apart from Fazalhaq in the second T20I. Conceding only 28 runs from 22 deliveries and picking a wicket, he was the only saving grace. In the third T20I, he will have to pick more wickets as the rest of the bowlers look out of form.
Predicted XIs
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma ©, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran ©, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
Prediction
Afghanistan have been a rung below India this season with the latter outclassing the former in both the batting and bowling departments. Even if the hosts decide to rest a few of their stalwarts, they remain the overwhelming favorites.