CWC 2019: AFG Vs NZ Preview – Blackcaps seek hat-trick of wins against Asian teams
Two teams with contrasting results in their first two matches of 2019 World Cup will now clash head-on at an unpredictable venue. New Zealand survived a scare against Bangladesh and shall seek to dominate Afghanistan to regain their confidence. The Afghan side will be readying themselves to challenge the Blackcaps much like Bangladesh did. The match will be played at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. This will be the first ODI at this ground since the 1999 World Cup.
New Zealand in their third match of the tournament will once again be up against an Asian team. They had cruised to a 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening game but they had to strive for a win versus Bangla Tigers. Blackcaps do have a fierce pace battery, however, lack of runs from the middle order will be a concern. Still, they will be hoping to complete their hat-trick of wins by rolling over Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has received a major blow with the news of Mohammad Shahzad being ruled out of the tournament. Playing dual roles of an aggressive opener and a handy wicketkeeper, Shahzad’s boots will be hard to fill. However, the Afghans are known to raise their game in the face of adversity and they will want to surprise the confident Kiwis. The Asian team is still searching for its opening win after losing the first two games.
Match Info
Afghanistan vs New Zealand, 13th match
County Ground, Taunton (6:00 pm IST)
Head-To-Head
Played – 1
Afghanistan wins – 0
New Zealand wins – 1
These two teams have faced each other only once in international cricket. This match was played in the group stages of the 2015 World Cup. At Napier, Afghanistan was bowled out for 186 with Daniel Vettori (4/18) and Trent Boult (3/34) doing maximum damage. New Zealand took 36.1 overs to chase down the total.
Team Tactics
Afghanistan
The Asian team has taken 12 wickets in two matches so far, eight of which have been claimed by spinners. If the Taunton track offers Afghan spinners some help, the team is capable of troubling the New Zealanders to a great extent. The loss of Shahzad will force the team to bring in a specialist wicketkeeper and an extra batsman. This may actually result in them becoming a better batting unit. Their shallowness in batting was evident in the failed chase of 187 runs against Sri Lanka.
New Zealand
Reviewing New Zealand’s performance against Bangladesh, one worry plaguing them will be the fragile middle order. With Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi operating for Afghanistan, the lower middle order of New Zealand will be severely tested. The bowling attack comprising mainly of pace bowlers shows no obvious weakness and it is expected to function smoothly against Afghanistan’s weaker department – their batting.
Key Players
Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan): The Afghan opener is arguably the most destructive batsman in the current team setup. The loss of Mohammad Shahzad due to an injury adds the pressure to perform on Zazai. He will be up against Trent Boult and Matt Henry which makes his challenge even harder.
Martin Guptill (New Zealand): Owner of the record for highest individual score in the World Cup, New Zealand opener has already struck three ODI centuries this year. England has been Guptill’s favourite hunting ground over the years. He averages 57.69 from 16 ODIs played in the World Cup host nation. He can very well take the Afghan bowling attack to the task.
Probable XI
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib (c), Hashmatullah Shahidi/Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Hamid Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(wk), Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
