England pulled off a masterful chase against South Africa in their second match of the ICC World T20 2016. Eoin Morgan's men will hope for a more drama-free outing when they play Afghanistan in a Group 1 match at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.
Both of England's matches so far were played at the Wankhede Stadium, on a kind of pitch the batsmen dream of. Runs were very much the order of the day in Mumbai, with England posting 182 in their first match, before chasing down South Africa's 229.
Watch highlights of the entertaining match HERE
Runs might not come as easily at the Kotla, with the wicket expected to turn throughout the match. That means England, who have one win and won loss in their two matches, need to adjust their plans and team makeup, with Liam Dawson being called in for his debut a real possibility.
"I expected a dryer pitch," Morgan was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "There's still a lot of grass on it but I don't know what it's going to do. We'll have to leave it as late as possible to select the side, and see what conditions are going to be like. If it's another hot day like today, the groundsman might leave grass on it rather than take it off.
"Since we've arrive here we've had one net session in the nets and they have turned a considerable amount, but I don't think it will turn as much. We can be as open-minded as we can, we can talk about it and we can use other players and our backroom staff as a sounding board."
The other change that England might ponder is giving Liam Plunkett an opportunity, even if judging the performances of the likes of Reece Topley and David Willey is a little difficult considering the kind of wickets they bowled on at the Wankhede.
Morgan also has a worry over Alex Hales' fitness, after the opener sat out training with a back issue, meaning James Vince could be in line for his first match of the World T20.
England were outstanding in the massive chase against South Africa, pulling out a win when only a win would have done. Joe Root showed, yet again, why he is one of the best batsmen in the world with a superlative knock, and Morgan will bank on the right-hander to perform against Afghanistan, who will not be easy opponents.
While Afghanistan lost both their matches so far, they made Sri Lanka and South Africa work for their wins. Their performance against South Africa was particularly impressive, with Afghanistan going toe to toe with one of the best teams in the world for the first half of the chase, before the pressure finally told.
Mohammad Shahzad will be the danger man for England, and if their bowlers, who have gone for plenty in the Powerplay overs, fail to stop the Afghanistan opener from getting off to a flying start, this match could go right to the end.
Where to Watch Live
England vs Afghanistan is scheduled for a 3 p.m. IST (9.30 a.m. GMT, 4.30 a.m. ET) start. Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 and Star Sports HD3 will give viewers in India and the subcontinent live TV coverage. Audience in India, and a few other select countries, can also watch the WT20 match online by live streaming on Starsports online and Hotstar.
Sky Sports 2 will broadcast England's match against Afghanistan live in the UK, while the live stream option is on Watch Sky Sports. Viewers in Afghanistan can watch their match England live on Lemar TV.
Willow TV and Willow TV Online will broadcast the game live on TV and online in the US and Canada.
Fox Sports will show the World T20 2016 match live in Australia, while the live streaming option is on Foxtel.
Viewers in New Zealand can watch the match live on Sky Sport and Sky Go NZ. Audience in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa will be able to watch the World T20 action live on SuperSport, with the online live stream option SuperSport Live Video.
