India vs Afghanistan Asian Games Preview & Tips - India to brush Afghanistan aside in Asian Games quarter-final

Afghanistan were beaten by Nepal in their last Asian Games match as they succumbed to a stunning five-wicket loss. 

In their last 10 meetings, India have won each time, with their last clash ending in a 127-run win for India. 

India may arrive for their Asian Games quarter-final on the back of seven consecutive wins in the shortest format, but they have some work to do to truly hit top gear again. 

Prior to their winning run, India had lost six consecutive games. Two shocking defeats to Ireland were quickly followed by four defeats to an inspired England. They have since beaten Zimbabwe (3-0) and Afghanistan (3-0) before downing Japan. However, that win over Japan came in an incredibly tight two-run triumph. While it was a win, India were on the cusp of an embarrassing loss. 

While few expect India to lose to a weakened Afghanistan outfit, the former cannot simply expect to win this one. A quarter-final in any competition can often see strange things happen, but the head to head record between the side suggests this one will not be particularly close if India play as expected. 

Afghanistan were very disappointing in their last outing against Nepal as their paltry score of 102/7 was easily chased down by their opponents with five wickets to spare. 

Admittedly, after slumping to 16/3, their score of 102/7 was a positive. This was doubly true as they restricted Nepal to 31/3 after 6.3 overs. However, they struggled to take regular wickets from there, with Nepal cruising to the win. 

Against the better teams, Afghanistan will not likely be given the chance to bounce back from losing three early wickets or failing to take advantage of stifling their opponents. I am backing Afghanistan to slump to a defeat in the quarter-final as they lost for consecutive matches, with the gap between themselves and the best highlighted once again.