Afghans hope to derail Windies’ charge

Lucknow: Cricket carnival is around as hosts Afghanistan will look to take their cricket forward against the touring West Indians at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

With both the sides camping in the city for the month-long series, the fun-fare will start on Wednesday with the opening one-dayer. Afghanistan, who have made the city their second home, play three ODIs, three T20Is and a one-off Test here.

Having won the practice game on Monday, the Afghans will feel a little confident against a side which has the fire-power to blast any team in the shorter versions of the game.

Big hitters like skipper Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Brandon King can turn around the game any time. Along with them, the likes of Even Lewis, Shai Hope and all-rounder Jason Holder provide the Caribbeans depth in their batting.

Complimenting them will the fiery bowling of Sheldon Cottrell, Keemo Paul and Alzarri Joseph. Though the wickets here lack bounce, still the trio can be handy on any type of surface.

The weakest link for the tourists is their spin department, an important weapon for any side touring the sub-continent. There will be a lot of workload on left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, off-spinner Roston Chase and wrist spinner Hayden Walsh Jr. The three will have to be spot on to put a leash on the Afghan batsmen.

With Chris Gayle, Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen and Kemar Roach not part of the squad, the side will have to search for alternatives. Though Pollard has said that the main aim of the series is to find alternatives before the T20 World Cup in Australia next year, the side is likely to go into the opener with their best XI as a lead in the ODI contest will provide them a head start from where they can make some experiments.

Afghanistan who had lost to West Indies by 23 runs in the last ODI the teams played at ICC World Cup in England, will be hoping to reverse the result here. And they have the wherewithal to do so.

Their most potent weapon is the spin quartet led by skipper Rashid Khan. Hailed as one of the best exponents of leg-spin bowling, Rashid will have the support of the experienced Mohammad Nabi, who is a master of drift while bowling off-spinners and Najibullah Zadran, the all-rounder who is also a handy off-spinner. The big ground will be a solace for the spinners and the low-bounce wickets will provide more teeth to the slow bowlers.

There is also a man in the side who will look for redemption. Gulbadin Naib, the former skipper, whose debatable over against Pakistan at the World Cup is still talked about. The strong lad is a handy medium-pacer and can also provide tempo to the side with the bat too. He will be an interesting player to watch out.

On the batting front Afghanistan have some capable willow-wielders in Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Javed Ahmadi, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Alikhil and Asghar Afghan. Even Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi can pack a punch with the bat.

Now with everything to play for, the concern is the toxic smog which is engulfing the city. Though there was some respite on Tuesday with the sun shining brightly, the sides will pray that the situation gets better as the series progress.

Teams (from):

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (capt), Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Sheldon Cottrell, Hayden Walsh, Romario Shepherd, Khary Pierre, Sunil Ambris.

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (capt), Hazratullah Zazai, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ibrahim Zadran, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Afsar Zazai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yamin Ahmadzai.

Match starts at 2 pm.