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Tuesday 15 September, 14.30
TV: Sky Sports
India v Afghanistan second T20 team news
India enjoyed a comfortable win in game one when Afghanistan's batters failed to make use of what looked a decent batting track. But credit must go to the home attack, which was relentless.
Jasprit Bumrah went for less than seven an over, Arshdeep less than five with three wickets while the frontline spin options of Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel combined for two for 43 from eight.
It was just as well as the fifth, sixth and seventh options looked shaky. They do lack a bowling all-rounder with Harshit Rana missing out due to injury.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was a surprise omission as Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson reprised their opening partnership. It was another failure for Samson, though. Abhishek top scored while Ishan Kishan continued his rungetting, albeit in a more sedate manner as India for home with more than six overs to spare.
Probable XI: Samson, Abhishek, Ishan, Shreyas, Tilak, Reddy, Dube, Axar, Varun, Bumrah, Arshdeep
Afghanistan are reliant on Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran for runs. The pair are by far their most reliable and dangerous batters. So when both are back in the hutch by the end of the fourth over, they are in peril.
A total capable of making India sweat on a good pitch looked beyond them at that point. Indeed from 43 for five they did well to post something respectable. Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi deserved credit for launching a rescue mission.
It doesn't bode well for the rest of the series. In terms of balance, Afghanistan actually field more bowlers than batters with seven available to bowl. They are short of an extra batter. The strategy appears to be to try to hurt India with spin. A full 16 overs are available to them.
Probable XI: Gurbaz, Zadran, Atal, Naib, Rasooli, Omarzai, Nabi, Rashid, Noor, Mujeeb, Farooqi
India v Afghanistan second T20 pitch report
Each of the matches for the three-game series will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. As stated before the first match, it is a wicket which favours the batters and that opinion hasn't changed even though Afghanistan struggled. The clue is the speed at which India chased their target. They went at more than 11 an over.
It would be a surprise if the same surface was used but it might not be a problem. The boundaries looked short and the bounce was true. India batting first remains the betting opportunity that most will be waiting for. That second-innings chase suggests more than 200 is well within their grasp. The gamble pre-toss is taking Sportsbook's overs 183.5 on first-innings runs in the hope India bat first. The average in the last 30 matches is 189.9. The bias for the chaser ticked over to 53.3% but it's not a trend to get bogged down with.
India v Afghanistan second T20 match prediction
India are as short as 1/141.07 with Betfair's Sportsbook with Afghanistan out to 7/18.00. On the Betfair Exchange, Afghanistan are 8.6015/2. The option for the trade in game one was there with the visitors batting first on a flat one but they were never in the game insofar as reducing their price.
It stands to reason that considering India wins or dominance on the derivative markets is a sensible strategy. Sportsbook offer 11/53.20 for the hosts to have the highest opening partnership, first-over score and first six overs score. That leans heavily on India's batting but that's okay. They are significantly more powerful. And Bumrah bowling the first over for India isn't too shabby, either.
India to hit more than 11.5 sixes is another option, stripping away some of the variables on the former. Even money is available with Sportsbook for a team which has an average of 9.6 over the last 30. It's not a huge gap to make up given the track and boundary size.
Back India over 11.5 sixes
India v Afghanistan second T20 player tips
Ishan and Zadran were both identified as the most reliable top-bat bets to follow before a ball was bowled in game one. A blank for both merely means they've got closer to the win zone. Ishan, in particular, looks in fine touch having come into the series off the back of a domestic double ton. Keeping faith with good players with strong win rates is a more than acceptable strategy. Kishan is 7/24.50 and Zadran 3/14.00.