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New Zealand
Match Complete
Afghanistan
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New Zealand will be looking to back up their brilliant performance against Australia when they face Afghanistan in the second match of their T20 World Cup campaign. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7pm (AEDT).
Afghanistan enters this match on the back of being defeated by England out west in Perth, in a game that was tighter than many may have predicted before the match and definitely at the end of their batting innings.
The Afghanistan bowling attack managed to put pressure on the vaunted English line-up, even when defending a small total, which says a lot about their skill and tenacity.
Unfortunately, the Afghani fielding efforts were not quite up to the same level; and as a result, the English batsman were able to get second chances and find boundaries just as pressure was building. However,they’ll be confident that if their batting can manage to get them a total of roughly 160 then they’ll be right in with a chance to defend it.
160 would be a tall task for the Afghanistan batting lineup in today’s game, with New Zealand arguably blessed with a bowling attack that may be even better than England’s. Sam Curran was the major thorn in Afghanistan’s side, taking 5/10 in Perth, and New Zealand has Trent Boult who is even more dangerous as a left-arm quick.
Additionally, it looks like New Zealand will get to field their first-choice XI, with Daryl Mitchell having recovered from his fractured finger and most likely back into this side, and slotting into the middle order in place of Mark Chapman.
Unlike Afghanistan, the Black Caps also come into this match with momentum, having managed a huge upset victory against Australia by a whopping 89 runs, on the back of an all-round amazing performance.
Prediction
It’s impossible to pick against New Zealand after seeing the kind of performance they produced in all facets of the game just a few short days ago.
I think the Black Caps claim their second win, and place themselves in the box seat to qualify for the final four.
Venue: MCG
First ball: 7pm (AEDT)
TV: Fox Cricket
Live stream: Kayo Sports
Odds: New Zealand $1.19, Afghanistan $4.75 – odds via PlayUp
Squads
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (c), Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Martin Guptill, Lachlan Ferguson, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Trent Boult, Finn Allen
Afghanistan
Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Usman Ghani.
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