Pre-match press conferences are usually littered with cliches of the following variety.
"We are focusing on one game at a time." "We are not looking too far ahead." "Every game is important." For India though, it's really about driving home these banal phrases ahead of their clash against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.
Because as another cliche goes, India can't afford to take it lightly against a team that's ever improving and made it to this World Cup by finishing in the top eight of the ODI Super League rather than via the qualifiers. Their two most recent meetings are useful reminders.
In the 2019 World Cup, Afghanistan lost by just 11 runs after restricting India to 224/8. In 2018, the two teams played out a tie in the Asia Cup.
Particularly after India's victory against Australia where they hit the right notes in most facets, it is not always easy to again hit top gear given the short turnaround time. But that's the nature of the World Cup, and India will want to have two wins on the board before the intensity of the campaign gets ramped up several notches against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The box they will want to primarily tick against Afghanistan is the performance of the top order. Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer fell without scoring against the Aussies in Chennai, placing the onus on Virat Kohli and KL Rahul to stitch together a solid partnership on the way to a target of 200. Which they did with aplomb.
Gill out of reckoning
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 11, 2023-Ausgabe von Hindustan Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 11, 2023-Ausgabe von Hindustan Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Palestinian PM Resigns Citing 'New Reality' Of War In Gaza
The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of all Palestinian territories after the end of war
Future Perfect: The Kids Are All Right
Gill and Jurel hold out promise by simplifying a challenging chase to help India seal series
Akshay feels 'blessed' to have worked with OG Ramayan cast
Director Akshay K Agarwal shot a music video, Humare Ram Aaye Hai, with the cast of the 1987 TV show, Ramayanactors Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri - in Ayodhya recently.
Musk's firm gets nod for Sat Net; joins Jio, Bharti
Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been allowed to offer satellite broadband services in India, two officials aware of the development said.
A temple, 169 years in the making
Through decades of design and reworks, hurdles in engineering and construction, HT pieces together how the grandeur of the Ram Temple was reclaimed
'Political interference' forces Vihari to quit Andhra cricket
After Andhra bowed out of the Ranji Trophy at the quarter-final stage with a four-run defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday, senior batter Hanuma Vihari launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), saying he will never turn up for the state again.
Shafali, Kapp lead Capitals to a 9-wicket win over Warriorz
A blazing fifty by Shafali Verma (64₹, 43 balls) helped Delhi Capitals make a mockery of a target of 120 and open their account in the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Making 'unbelievable things believable', the Ayhika way
The India No. 7 was an inspired pick for the world team event and she repaid the faith, beating the Chinese world No.1
'Connected TVs to reach 45 mn by 2024-end in India'
With improvement in broadband penetration, Indian households are increasingly opting for connected or addressable TVs.
India chip strategy makes progress as $21 billion in proposals received
The Indian government, after years of watching from the sidelines of the chips race, now has to evaluate $21 billion of semiconductor proposals and divvy up taxpayer support between foreign chipmakers, local champions or some combination of the two.