Afghanistan v West Indies, 2nd T20I, Lucknow – Preview, likely XIs, prediction

Afghanistan were expected to be a different animal in the T20Is, but if their performance in the first T20I is anything to go by, it’s a lot of the same old. West Indies, having swept the ODIs 3-0, asserted their dominance to win the first T20I by 30 runs.

Ahead of the second T20I, Afghanistan are in the last chance salon – they need to win to ensure the T20Is stay alive and they come away from the whole series with something to show for their efforts. And for that, what Afghanistan need to do is find a way to string together partnerships.

It was an issue for them in the ODIs, but in T20Is, they were expected to big-hit their way out of such concerns. Unfortunately, the West Indies bowlers were excellent in the first T20I, despite bowling second and with a plenty of dew going around. They executed the cross-seam deliveries smartly, and ensured the Afghanistan batsmen were tied up.

Do Afghanistan have a plan to counter these measures in the second T20I? It’s difficult to see how they can fare better give they had plenty going in their favour in the first match, winning the toss, bowling first, and keeping West Indies to a chaseable target.

Under Kieron Pollard, West Indies have looked a solid outfit. Afghanistan have their work cut out.

Head to head

Afghanistan and West Indies have clashed in five T20Is till date. It’s a rivalry dominated by West Indies, who have won four of those matches. Afghanistan’s only victory came in their very first T20I encounter in the 2016 World T20 – a tournament West Indies went on to win.

Key players

Gulbadin Naib (Afghanistan): Naib, Afghanistan’s former ODI captain, was one of their better performers in the first T20I, his 2/24 in four overs massively contributing to restricting West Indies to 164/5. Naib had the honour of captaincy Afghanistan in the World Cup, but has said little since he was axed in favour of Rashid. More such performances are needed to show he can still be a key player, even without captaincy.

Kieron Pollard (West Indies): Since Pollard was made captain, West Indies have looked an altogether stronger, more fighting outfit, ready to grind out games to the finish. That’s definitely a good attribute to have, and no one exemplifies that more than the captain himself. He scored a 22-ball 32 to boost their target, and then returned a fine 2/17 in 3 overs with the ball. He will be crucial to the side for a while yet.

Likely XIs

Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan (c), Fareed Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

West Indies: Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kieron Pollard (c), Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Khary Pierre, Kesrick Williams, Sheldon Cottrell, Hayden Walsh Jr

Prediction

West Indies to make it 2-0 and seal another series win.