After defeating England, the reigning ICC ODI World Cup winners, in a historic triumph, Afghanistan is bursting with confidence. In the forthcoming match against a much favored New Zealand, the Afghan team will aim to repeat the feat. The game will take place on October 18 at 2 PM IST at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In the last game, the Afghanistan team’s spinners displayed scorching form.
On a batting-friendly Delhi pitch, England had a target of 285 runs to chase. But their batting suffered a severe collapse. Rashid Khan, also from Afghanistan, won the award for best ball handler. For a three-wicket haul, the 25-year-old all-rounder destroyed the English middle order.
On the other side, New Zealand will come into the game with three straight victories. The Black Cups are now in second place and tie for first place with India in terms of points. In the most recent game, New Zealand faced Bangladesh and won easily by 8 wickets. Kane Williamson, the captain, and Daryl Mitchell both scored half century, while Lockie Ferguson stole the show by taking three victims.
Report on Pitch:
The MA Chidambaram Stadium’s pitch is renowned as a spinner’s paradise because of its sluggish pace and unexpected turn. It is predicted that the match between New Zealand and Afghanistan would be low-scoring given the results of the past World Cup games played in Chepauk. In order to grasp the surface and establish a solid connection, batters will need to spend more time in the crease. When the ball is still young, the pacer could be useful.
Climate Report:
On October 18, Chennai’s weather is predicted to be partly overcast. There is little risk that rain will interfere with New Zealand’s game against Afghanistan in the World Cup. The humidity is forecast to be between 73 and 81 percent, while the temperature might range between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius. During the 50-over game, the wind will be blowing at a pace of 12 to 17 km/h.
Full squads for New Zealand vs. Afghanistan:
Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (captain), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young are all members of the New Zealand full squad.
Full Afghanistan squad: Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah O