India would not know what to expect from the surface at the Korogi Sports Park which also staged the women’s competition won by Harmanpreet Kaur and Company. India will face an inexperienced Afghanistan in their Asian Games opener on Monday with the overwhelming favourites looking to quickly acclimatise to the unfamiliar conditions in Japan. After the one off game against Japan in Sano on Tuesday when India were pushed to the limit by the hosts on a turning track, the Shreyas Iyer-led side has not had much to do.
Though the women’s event was a high-scoring affair, the men’s games thus far have not seen big totals.
Being in a non cricketing nation for the first time has also been a refreshing experience for majority of the players. It is to be noted that India have come here with a full strength squad unlike last time with Iyer himself part of the side alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan Abhishek Sharma and Axar Patel. Anything less than a gold would be disappointing, especially factoring in the rocky start Iyer has had to ensure as captain post back-to-back titles in the T20 World Cup. Afghanistan, who were hammered by India in Delhi recently, have come here with an inexperienced squad led by Darwish Rasooli. The selectors picked as many as six uncapped players for the tournament. Afghanistan have got a taste of the conditions and an surprising defeat at the hands of Nepal in the group stage While India begin their tournament from the quarterfinals. They played Japan in the tournament opener before going down against Nepal. The batting has been their achilles heal as usual.
Considering the depth of Indian cricket in the shortest format, such a decision has been questioned by the experts when the focus should be on the 2027 ODI World Cup.
“It has been beautiful,” Iyer told the BCCI website on way to Nagoya.
