Photo by Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India), via Wikimedia Commons

Sooryavanshi’s new-ball problem meets an Afghan attack built to exploit it

Ahead of the upcoming contest, focus has turned to the difficulties Sooryavanshi encounters when dealing with deliveries from the fresh ball. Those specific vulnerabilities could come under heavy scrutiny against an opponent armed with bowling options tailor-made to capitalize on them.

Afghanistan features a bowling unit structured precisely to target such technical hurdles early in an innings. As a consequence, this battle at the start of play shapes up as a critical tactical showdown between the batter and the bowling group.