India v Afghanistan preview, player tips & predictions

---

MATCH INFO
India v Afghanistan
Venue: Hampshire Bowl, Southampton, Saturday, June 22, 10.30am (British time)
Head to head odds: India $1.03; Afghanistan $12
Last time they met: Afghanistan 8-252 (50 overs) tied with India 252 (49.5 overs) in Dubai, September 25, 2018.

---

INDIA will enter Saturday’s clash against Afghanistan as a massive favourite to remain undefeated and further strengthen its grip on a semi-final berth at the ICC World Cup in England and Wales.

India is undefeated at the cricket World Cup but had its clash against New Zealand washed out last week, which means the Indians are trailing England, Australia and New Zealand in the group stage.

Afghanistan is in a completely different position having not won a game at the ICC World Cup, which was not entirely unexpected, but the alarming manner they have capitulated in some matches is.

India will enter the clash as one of the shortest favourites in betting this tournament, while Afghanistan will need a minor miracle to win, according to leading online bookies.

India, already reeling from the loss of Shikhar Dhawan to injury, will be forced into another change with experienced paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar injuring a hamstring during his team’s win over Pakistan.

This India v Afghanistan betting preview will run you through betting options for match 28 of 48 of the ICC World Cup 2019.

India v Afghanistan odds:

For full markets visit the William Hill website.

HEAD TO HEAD BETTING:
India $1.03, Afghanistan $12
Prediction: It might only be a two-horse race, but one horse has three legs in this one. India are too short to back in head to head betting, but there is nothing much surer than India winning.

TOP RUN-SCORER BETTING:

India:
Top five in betting: Virat Kohli $3.25, Rohit Sharma $4, Lokesh Rahul $4.50, Vijay Shankar $7.50, Hardik Pandya $7.50.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v Pakistan: Rohit Sharma 140
v New Zealand: Match abandoned
v Australia: Shikhar Dhawan 117
v South Africa: Rohit Sharma 122no
v Australia: Rohit Sharma 56

Afghanistan:
Top five in betting: Hazratullah Zazai $4.50, Rahmat Shah $5.50, Noor Ali Zadran $5.50, Hashmatulla Shahidi $6, Asghar Afghan $6.50.

Top scorers from past five ODIs:
v England: Hashmatulla Shahidi 76
v South Africa: Rashid Khan 35
v New Zealand: Hashmatulla Shahidi 59
v Sri Lanka: Najibullah Zadran 43
v Australia: Najibullah Zadran 51

Top batter prediction: There is a noticeable lack of Virat Kohli in the last five top scorers for India in one-dayers, but we are predicting this will change against Afghanistan. All it will take is one early wicket and King Kohli will be in the middle. We think he won’t want to miss out against a somewhat pedestrian Afghani bowling attack.
We have plucked a few good winners from Afghanistan’s matches, including picking Rashid Khan against South Africa at $34, and we think there is nice value on Rahmat Shah to top score in this match at $5.50. Again, India has some great bowlers so it wouldn’t surprise to see early wickets and a rearguard action from Khan again.

TOP WICKET-TAKER BETTING:

India:
Top five in betting: Jasprit Bumrah $3.50, Yuzvendra Chahal $4, Bhuvneshwar Kumar $4.50, Kuldeep Yadav $5, Mohammed Shami $5.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v Pakistan: Vijay Shankar 2-22, Kuldeep Yadav 2-32, Hardik Pandya 2-44,
v New Zealand: Match abandoned
v Australia: Jasprit Bumrah 3-61, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-50
v South Africa: Yuzvendra Chahal 4-51
v Australia: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3-48

Afghanistan:
Top five in betting: Rashid Khan $2.37, Mujeeb Ur Rahman $4.50, Mohammad Nabi $4.50, Dawlat Zadran $6, Gulbadin Naib $6, Aftab Alam $6.

Top wicket-takers from past five ODIs:
v England: Gulbadin Naib 3-68, Dawlat Zadran 3-85
v South Africa: Gulbadin Naib 1-29
v New Zealand: Aftab Alam 3-45
v Sri Lanka: Mohammad Nabi 4-30
v Australia: Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1-45, Gulbadin Naib 1-32, Rashid Khan 1-52

Top bowler tip: Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah might have been due for a spell, but he’s very unlikely to miss now Kumar is injured. It really wouldn’t surprise to see Bumrah rip through Afghanistan in this one and we’ll be having a small something on him.
Normally we would be all over Rashid Khan but for whatever reason the gun leggie has failed to fire in England and he’s too short at $2.37, which means we’re going to stick with Gulbadin Naib to take most wickets at $6, after a strong showing last outing.

India v Afghanistan prediction

We are predicting India will win in a canter in this one, with Afghanistan yet to really trouble any teams at the cricket World Cup. There is just a massive class difference in the two teams and the betting on the match reflects this. If you’re looking for some extra value in head to head betting, look for a double market where you take India to win and score the most sixes in the match.

ALSO READ:
ICC World Cup 2019 betting guide
ICC World Cup 2019 leading wicket-taker
Cricket betting sites
ICC World Cup 2019 leading run-scorer
ICC World Cup 2019 player of tournament
More cricket World Cup previews

Relevant news