INDIA IS going to play its first Twenty20 world cup 2010 match against Afghanistan at Gros Islet in West Indies today, May 1. The fresh memory of winning IPL tournament will definitely make it easier for captain of Indian squad Mahendra Singh Dhoni to thrash the newly born cricketing team of Afghanistan. But ruling out Afghanistan as a weak team will be a big mistake on the part of opponents. The wily Afghans have surprised many an Associate teams during their stunning rise from Division Five to the world event. M S Dhoni is well aware of the criticality of the opening game, especially when most of his players are under fatigue syndrome caused by recently ended IPL tournament back home. He aptly said, "I don't take my opponent lightly. At the end of the day you have to win whichever team you play...our preparation will remain the same as if you are playing the best opponent in world cricket." Indian team knows little about their opponents and haven't played a warm match, this is going to be critical factor in the match against Afghanistan. A win against Afghanistan will assure India a place in the next round. But, you cannot rule out the surprise element attached with cricket. Afghanistan team will definitely try do its best and play to their best potential. What they can do against the experienced Indian batting line up and a seasoned bowling attack, remains to be seen. Pace of Zahir, spin of turbanator Harbhajan and batting prowess of Yuvraj and Raina under the stewardship of Dhoni will definitely make them tizzy. Despite the craze of cricket, the matches in Caribbean matches do have a problem of timing as they are played in a different time zone. Indian Vs Afghanistan match will be played today at 7 pm IST. Two men from both sides whom people are expecting to show good skills are Suresh Raina from India and Mohammad Nabi from Afghanistan. Raina, fresh from the IPL stint and Man of the Final is going to show what it takes to be successful in the T20 format. On the other hand Md. Nabi, an off-spinning all rounder was the leading wicket taker (13) in qualifiers. And scored 58 in his first ODI match. The pitch report is in favor of batsmen, and in all possibility it is going to be high scoring game. But the forecast of scattered shower can jeopardize the possible advantage for Indians. It is the first Twenty20 international for Gros Islet. Statistically, winning record of Afghanistan with 66% is better than Indian average of 55%. But, cricket fan's will definitely love to watch some struggle and fight rather just a clean sweep.
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