T20 World Cup LIVE – NZ vs AFG LIVE: Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman feels, India can expect Afghanistan to trounce New Zealand in key clash that will decide India’s fate in World Cup. According to Laxman, Afghanistan team has world class spinners who can suprise Kiwis today.
India’s fate hinges on the outcome of the Afghanistan-New Zealand match on Sunday. A simple victory will take the Kiwis to the semis, but I won’t be surprised if Afghanistan run them close. They have an array of high-quality spinners led by Rashid Khan,” Laxman wrote in his column for Times of India.
Laxman super-impressed with India’s victories against Afghanistan and Scotland in the T20 World Cup.
India still need to win their last game against Namibia on Monday and depend on the result of Sunday’s New Zealand-Afghanistan match to have any chance of making the final four. Laxman wrote he is impressed with the Indian team becuase they did not brood too much over the defeats against Pakistan & New Zealand – and played super-well in the last two games.
“Impressive as the margins were against Afghanistan and Scotland, what caught my eye was India’s attitude and mindset. Gone was the timidity of the earlier games, replaced by the intent you have come to expect of top sides in T20 cricket. After the loss to New Zealand, Virat Kohli admitted his team hadn’t been brave enough. I am sure the captain must be happy with how they have responded to his urgings.”
“It’s easy to say these performances have come against not the strongest outfits. That’s why I alluded to attitude and mindset. India could have brooded over the heavy losses to Pakistan and New Zealand. They could have lost sight of the immediate future. To their credit, they have managed to set those defeats aside for the time being and focus on what needs to be done. They had two targets going into their three remaining games – win and win big,” Laxman added.
T20 World Cup: VVS Laxman heaps praise on Team India for their ‘attitude and mindset’
“India have done what they had to. Both victories have been emphatic. Against a dangerous Afghanistan side, the openers did the heavy lifting, playing with hitherto elusive freedom. As attractive as KL Rahul was, I was fascinated by Rohit Sharma’s approach. In the last couple of years, he has preferred to play himself in and then take the attack to the bowling. India needed him to play differently and the vice-captain responded by setting the tone in the very first over,” Laxman opined.
“Combining aggression and common sense beautifully, India rattled up more than 200 runs and turned in a top-class bowling performance against an aggressive batting group. R Ashwin was superb. No matter how experienced one might be, you are bound to feel pressure on a comeback after four years. If Ashwin was nervous, he did a great job of concealing it. His presence lends a new dimension to the Indian attack, and I loved the way he went about his business, working through the Afghan middle-order,” Laxman asserted.
T20 World Cup: VVS Laxman heaps praise on Team India for their ‘attitude and mindset’
Jadeja came on to bowl after the first six overs of powerplay and made an instant impact with twin strikes to send back Richie Berrington, bowled without scoring a run, and Matthew Cross trapped lbw for two.
“His spin twin, Ravindra Jadeja, was on song against Scotland. He is often, and not unjustly, viewed as a restrictive bowler but he made the most of the slight assistance from the surface in Dubai. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were spot-on with their lengths and in their execution of the yorkers”
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