Ahead of his side's ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights game against Afghanistan, Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav said that the wicket in Barbados looks better than the ones in New York's Nassau County Stadium and talked about team's plans in case openers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli lose their wickets early. India will be playing Afghanistan in their ICC T20 World Cup Super Eights game at Barbados on Wednesday. India ended their group stage with three wins in three matches against Ireland, Pakistan and the USA in Group A while their last game against Canada ended in a washout. Afghanistan ended the group stage in second place in Group C, with three wins and a loss to West Indies.
Speaking ahead of the game in the pre-match press conference, Suryakumar said, "I was happy playing there as well (In New York). It is not that we were not happy playing there, but we were playing for the first time, so yes, the conditions were different and a little challenging as well. But we have played here, we know the conditions here, how they react, how they act, so we are very happy to be here."
"Here, it was covered, it rained when I went on to the field while fielding. But yeah, it looks better," he added. (T20 WC 2024, IND vs AFG: Key Battles To Watch Out For From Super 8 Match, Probable Playing 11s And More - In Pics)
Speaking about his 49-ball half-century against the USA, which was quite slow for the batter's standards, Suryakumar said that he realised that it was going to be difficult to score boundaries after the powerplay as there was wind and a slow outfield.
"So, we had a plan in mind after power play that just try and hit the gap, run hard. It was a little difficult track to bat on, yes, but that day the situation was different. We had to be batting till the end, keeping the wickets in hand. So that is what was running in my mind. The same thing, I spoke to Shivam (Dube) as well. We were just away from one or two hits and yeah, we got the game that way," he added.
India vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 Match Pitch Report
Unlike the U.S. phase of the tournament, India will play all three of their upcoming matches in the Caribbean. The change in weather and location will likely affect the pitch conditions. Kensington Oval, which has hosted 29 T20 International games, is known to provide a significant advantage to teams that win the toss and choose to bat first. In fact, teams that have batted first after winning the toss have emerged victorious 18 times, while those chasing have only won 8 matches. It's also worth noting that this venue is not known for producing high scores.
Speaking on the team's plans against Afghanistan, Suryakumar said that the team has done its planning against Afghans, but they are focused on their own strong points more.
"I mean, we do think about the opposition. But at the same time, at the end of the day, you should know what your strong points are and back it," he added.
On whether the team will play slowly after the fall of Virat and Rohit, Suryakumar said that the intent never changes and batters focus more on taking a positive route no matter what.
"And the two people who are batting inside, the management and the captain have said that they are the best who can take decisions. From the team's point of view, what is important at that time. So, we think and then act accordingly," he added.
The conditions expected to be totally different from what India faced in the USA now that the tournament has games left in the Carribean. A little change in the lineup is also expected with Kuldeep Yadav coming in for that extra batter India were carrying in bowling friendly pitches in the starting of the tournament.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi. (With ANI Inputs)
