T20 World Cup: Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes the pitch at the Kensington Oval in Barbados will make India fortunate in playing there during the Super Eight clash of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup against Afghanistan, citing it being batting friendly instead of providing slow turn.
The pitches at Barbados have offered batters few joys in run-making in the World Cup, with Australia being the only team to cross the 200-run mark here. Teams winning the toss have chosen to field first in all five games at the Kensington Oval for this T20 World Cup.
"India is fortunate that they're playing Afghanistan in Barbados where the pitch is going to be good, it's been one of the best batting pitches and that's where Afghanistan will be a little weak for India. If the pitch was a little tricky, slow-turning kind of pitch, then Afghanistan could have been more difficult to beat," said Manjrekar on the ‘Caught & Bold’ show on Disney+ Hotstar.
India have never lost to Afghanistan in men’s T20Is. India entered the Super Eights as the lone unbeaten team from Group A, while Afghanistan are in a T20 World Cup knockout stage for the first time after three big wins in Group C, before being handed a 104-run hammering by tournament co-hosts West Indies.
Harbhajan Singh, the former India off-spinner, thinks it won’t be smooth sailing for India against an Afghanistan team constantly punching above their weight. "As India has advanced to the Super 8 stage, the stakes are higher than earlier. Facing Afghanistan in the Super-8 stage will be thrilling.”
“Their growth as a cricket-playing nation in recent years has been truly remarkable. They have some good players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Noor Ahmad, and a world-class spinner Rashid Khan. It will not be easy but I am confident that India will have their plans in place and will execute them perfectly. It is going to be an exciting match for sure."
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 is streaming LIVE and FREE on mobile on Disney+ Hotstar.