Asia Cup 2018, Ind vs Afg: Can Afghanistan snap India's unbeaten run today?

After qualifying for the Asia Cup 2018 Final, India are taking on resurgent Afghanistan in their last Super clash at Dubai International Stadium in United Arab Emirates today. India secured a place in the finals after crushing Pakistan by 9 wickets, while Afghanistan are coming into their last Asia Cup match, having lost to Bangladesh in a last-over thriller which they lost by 3 runs. In the somewhat inconsequential match insofar as the finals berth is concerned, India might make some changes in their playing 11 and test their bench strength.

To check India vs Afghanistan live score click here

 
India and Afghanistan Asia Cup Journey
 

On Sunday, India made a mockery of Pakistan's below-par target of 237 with the opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan stitching together a 210-run stand to guide the Men in Blue to a 9-wicket win on their way to the September 28 final. India had earlier defeated Bangladesh in their first Super 4 match to remain the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far. Going into Tuesday's tie, India will be aiming to continue their dominance over the Asian newbies who have managed to give a tough fight in their narrow defeats to the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh. While Pakistan managed to win a last-over thriller over the Afghans by 3 wickets, Bangladesh on Sunday pipped Afghanistan by 3 runs to set up a virtual semi-final with Pakistan on Wednesday.

 
India team news
 
Aware of the threat the Afghans could pose, despite this being an inconsequential match, stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma and the team management could opt to rest some of the main players ahead of the final and test the bench. In such a scenario, Lokesh Rahul and Manish Pandey could enter in the middle order while medium pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar could come in to give Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah the much-needed rest before the final. India is unlikely to tinker with their opening combination, which has been a thorn in the Opposition's ranks throughout the tournament, while the middle order, comprising Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to be in decent form now. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will lead the spin department that includes the wrist spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

 
Afghanistan team news

Having lost both their Super Four matches so far, Afghanistan are already out of contention for the finals but their performances have surely won millions of hearts. Afghanistan will again be banking on their strong batting to put a total in excess of 250 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 — as evidenced in their two narrow losses in the Super Four stage. With nothing to lose, the Afghans 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.

 
Here are the playing 11 probables for both the sides:
 
India playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan/K L Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, M S Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah/Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzuvendra Chahal
 
Afghanistan playing 11: Mohammad Shahzad, Ihsanullah, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam
 
Asia Cup 2018 India vs Afghanistan match live streaming details
 
The India vs Afghanistan last Super Fours stage match will be broadcast on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD. It will be available for live streaming on Hotstar app. Tatasky subscribers can also watch the match on Tatasky mobile app.

 
India vs Afghanistan toss prediction
 
Both the captains – Rohit Sharma and Asghar Afghan — will look to win the toss and bowl first. Teams batting first at Dubai International Stadium have won only 9 matches, while those bowling first have won 16 matches.
 
Here are the Asia Cup 2018 squads of both teams
 
India Asia Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar
 
Afghanistan Asia Cup squad: 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.