India moved to the Super Eights, which consisted of two groups of four, having gone undefeated in the first round of pool play.
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Dravid is well aware of the struggle his team faces at the Kensington Oval, since India defeated Afghanistan in a T20 match in Bengaluru in January, requiring two Super Overs to win.
“We know Afghanistan is a very dangerous team in this format of the game,” former India batsman Dravid, 51 told a pre-match press conference on Wednesday, according to AFP. “They have shown that by their performances in this World Cup.
“They might not have a lot of international experience in the other formats of the game, but a lot of their players do play in a lot of T20 leagues, more than in fact some of our players do.
“So, certainly in this format they are not a team to be taken lightly. They are deservedly in the Super Eights.”
Afghanistan have lived up to the hype that they could be semifinalists.
Prior to an overwhelming 104-run loss by a surging West Indies in a match between two unbeaten teams on Monday in St. Lucia, when Nicholas Pooran smashed 98 for the tournament co-hosts, they had already secured their spot in the Super Eights.
But earlier in the competition, Afghanistan hammered New Zealand for 84 runs.
Afghanistan’s success has been largely attributed to Rashid Khan‘s excellent spin bowling, who led the way against New Zealand in Guyana by taking four wickets for 17 runs.
However, in the same match, left-arm fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi also took 4-17, and New Zealand was eliminated for just 75.
“They have a good bowling attack all round,” said Dravid. “Even their two pacers are quite experienced. Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq have both played a lot of cricket, they both swing the ball as well.
“I think their bowlers are some of the most sought-after bowlers in this format across the world.
“We understand that is going to pose a challenge to us and we are going to have to play well to counter that.”
Jonathan Trott, the coach of Afghanistan, said that better player relations had resulted from the introduction of T20 franchise cricket, which was driven by the Indian Premier League and “obviously very different from when I played”.
However, the 43-year-old claimed that the acquired information “works both ways”.
“We had nine, 10 players at the IPL. They will be able to share their knowledge of Indian players, and they’ll be able to do the same with our players,” explained Trott. “That’s the current state of world cricket.
“I think it’s in a good position, and it’s very healthy. And we’re in the middle of a World Cup and we’re in Barbados, so the world’s pretty good.”
Trott maintained that Nicholas Pooran’s ferocious attack would potentially help his team defeat India.
“Pooran played a great knock,” said the former England batsman. “But other sides are going to have players of that calibre, who on their day can win matches like Pooran did. So, I think it’s a good thing that it’s happened.
“We’ve learned lessons and we’re going to put that right starting tomorrow (Thursday).”