India’s opportunity to increase the happiness of a successful start.

Exhausted, no doubt,” KL Rahul admitted the day after India’s grueling commencement of the World Cup. In an informal conversation for bcci.tv, the wicketkeeper-batsman and Virat Kohli reminisced about their heroic comeback against Australia. In a 10-team round-robin league phase, there’s limited time for reflection. Now, just 24 hours later, India is positioned on the opposite side of the Vindhyas, gearing up to build upon the elation of their hard-fought victory.

On paper, Afghanistan appears to provide the ideal opportunity for Rohit Sharma and his team to recalibrate after a demanding beginning in Chennai and the emotionally charged weekend looming ahead. This observation is not meant to diminish the abilities of Hashmatullah Shahidi’s side or suggest that they cannot disrupt the existing hierarchy. The crucial reality is that this match holds the same value in terms of points as both the preceding and the subsequent ones.

Afghanistan is a team to be respected, even in the 50-over format, where teams with more talent often have an advantage. They qualified directly for this tournament and defeated Bangladesh in a bilateral series, a place where India has lost recently. Afghanistan also came close to replacing eventual finalists Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup Super Four, only falling short due to a difference in Net Run Rate.

Nonetheless, Afghanistan’s performance in major tournaments has been less impressive. Part of the challenge has been their first two ODI World Cups taking place in Australia and England, environments less conducive to their spin-oriented approach. Nevertheless, when the schedule for this tournament was established, Hashmatullah Shahidi most likely saw this match in Delhi as an opportune moment for Afghanistan’s much-anticipated breakthrough in the World Cup.

A poetic parallel might also be drawn from this situation. India secured their second World Cup match win in their third tournament when facing the giants of that era, and their journey took a positive turn from that point onward. In a similar vein, Afghanistan could be considered slightly ahead of the curve. They came agonizingly close to unsettling India on a slow wicket in Southampton four years ago. However, if they intend to overcome their past World Cup shortcomings and make significant progress in this edition, they’ll need to deliver a far more compelling performance than the initial impression they presented last week.