India begins Asian Games defense
Full-strength India opens its Asian Games cricket campaign against Afghanistan in the quarterfinals.
Anonymous
Defending champion India opens its Asian Games men’s cricket campaign against Afghanistan in a quarterfinal Monday, with a near-full-strength squad aiming to defend its gold medal. India’s star-studded lineup is heavily favored over an inexperienced Afghan side that beat Japan but lost to Nepal in the group stage. Still, India must adjust quickly to unfamiliar Japanese conditions after struggling on a turning pitch and narrowly beating Japan in a rain-affected warm-up. The decision to send its top T20 players has also drawn scrutiny because some players will miss India’s concurrent ODI series against the West Indies.
Key Points
1
India arrive as reigning double T20 World Cup champions; at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, by contrast, they sent a second-string team led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.
2
Afghanistan’s squad includes mostly new faces, with selectors choosing six uncapped players; captain Darwish Rasooli has 33 T20I caps.
3
Sanju Samson is expected to continue opening alongside Abhishek Sharma after the pair each scored two half-centuries.
4
India’s adjustment to conditions is a concern: the team managed only 32 for four in five overs against Japan, and the article notes that India lost all six completed T20Is on earlier tours of Ireland and England.
Sentiment
Mostly PositiveNEGATIVENEUTRALPOSITIVE
Publishers
33
Articles
90
Reach
123
Topics
A
AnonymousAuthor
