To continue their undefeated streak, New Zealand takes on Afghanistan, a team who overcame England

Afghanistan’s shocking victory against the reigning champs When the two teams square off in their World Cup encounter here on Wednesday, New Zealand will overlook Hashmatullah Shahidi’s squad at their own risk since England has given the team a new stature.

While Afghanistan, who surprised England by 69 runs, would want to pull off another major upset and get their campaign rolling in the championship match, the Kiwis would like to maintain their undefeated streak in the tournament.

New Zealand is having a terrific tournament; they have won all three of their games so far, and they are now ranked second on the points list, only behind India in terms of net run rate.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, had a rocky start to their campaign, losing to Bangladesh and India, before sending England’s Jos Buttler into a frenzy with a win they will remember for a very long time in New Delhi on Sunday.

After their flamboyant captain Kane Williamson fractured his left thumb during the match against Bangladesh and was ruled out for a few matches, New Zealand will once again be led by wicketkeeper-batter Tom Latham.

Williamson was in terrific shape to score a century after being out for more than five months due to an ACL injury sustained during the IPL 2023. Williamson had missed the initial two matches against England and the Netherlands. The captain’s innings, however, came to an end at pitch number 78 when a throw from the outfield hit him on the thumb.

The Kiwis would be counting on their success so far to win their fourth straight game against an unpredictable Afghanistan, who gave it their all against England, despite the significant defeat.

After recovering from a thumb injury, it would be intriguing to see whether pacer Tim Southee gets to play against Afghanistan, even if his match fitness has remained a concern.

The top order of Will Young, Devon Conway, and Daryl Mitchell will be crucial for the Kiwis, but Rachin Ravindra, an all-rounder known for his noteworthy exploits in all areas of the game, will also be one to keep an eye on.

Given that Afghanistan’s spinners Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi took five England wickets, the New Zealand batsmen will have seen the video footage of them several times to prepare for the slow-bowling danger.

New Zealand will have their hands full when they take against the trio of Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, and Nabi given that the match will be played at the Chepauk, where the ground has historically favored spinners.

In terms of the Afghanistan batting, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the opener, is the man in form after scoring 50 or more in each of the team’s first two games. However, other players like captain Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Ikram Alikhil may also be useful.

Although the Afghan batsmen will be wary of Trent Boult and Matt Henry’s blistering speed, their primary rival may perhaps be the spin team of Ravindra and Mitchell Santner, with the latter being the most effective slow bowler in the league thus far.

There have only been two matches between the two sides in this style, with New Zealand coming out on top both times.

Squads:

Kane Williamson is the captain for New Zealand, along with Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway at wicketkeeper, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips at wicketkeeper, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, and Will Young.

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman and Naveen ul Haq.

Game time is 2 PM IST.