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New Zealand vs Afghanistan Preview: New Zealand made a strong start to their T20 World Cup campaign by beating Australia. The 89-run win saw them beat their neighbours in Australia for the first time since 2009. The confidence-inducing win sets the tone for their upcoming matches - starting with Afghanistan. T20 World Cup: Full coverage | Schedule | Results | Points Table | News | Photos Afghanistan, one of the challenging sides in the format, can prove to be a difficult opposition courtesy their spin bowling. It was their bowling effort that kept England pegged back in the 5 wicket defeat. Had it not been for the bowlers, the net run rate would have been worse off. New Zealand’s strong batting lineup will have to be wary of Afghanistan’s spin trio of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The trio picked three wickets against England and had a combined economy rate of 5.00. Squads: New Zealand Squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Kane Williamson(c), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Daryl Mitchell, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Michael Bracewell Afghanistan Squad: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Qais Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Saleem Safi. Read all the Latest News ****, Trending News ****, Cricket News ****, Bollywood News ****, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook ****, Twitter and Instagram ****.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup HIGHLIGHTS: Match called off due to rain
New Zealand vs Afghanistan, T20 World Cup, HIGHLIGHTS: The T20 World Cup fixture between New Zealand and Afghanistan was abandoned due to rain
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The two sides will share one point each and Afghanistan are off the mark with that in the competition. New Zealand on the other side, now have three points under their belt and are placed at the top of the points table in the group. They earlier thumped Australia in the first match
We will lose out on some overs. That’s for sure. But for a 5-over game to take place, the cut off time is around 22:04 local time. Moreover, if we want to have the match to happen, then the rain needs to stop in next half an hour because the ground staff will require atleast 30-35 minutes to get the conditions suitable for play. Well, it’s still raining at the moment
It’s not looking good at the moment. The rain is getting heavier. Seems, we will have to wait further more
Some more bad news. The covers are coming on again as it has started to rain AGAIN! We have an inspection due at 8:20 pm local time. At the moment, it isn’t really looking good
New Zealand vs Afghanistan LIVE
As per ICC rules, there should be a minimum of 30 minutes between matches played on the same ground. There is rain pouring anyway. Could be here for a while…
New Zealand vs Afghanistan
In the early fixture, Ireland have beaten England by DLS method! England were 5 runs short when rain came down once again and that is a huge win for Ireland. Always fun to see Associate teams beating the biggies. [Follow live coverage between England and Ireland]
TOSS DELAYED!
The toss has been delayed for New Zealand vs Afghanistan with the previous game between England and Ireland running long. Not that much can be done anyway considering it is raining once again in Melbourne. Welp!
NZ vs AFG: In Numbers
180.26 – Finn Allen has the highest strike-rate for batters who have faced a minimum of 500 balls since 2020
125 – Against Australia, Tim Southee became the leading wicket-taker in T20Is by moving along to 125 wickets. He surpassed Shakib-al-Hasan who is on 123. Also in the 100+ group are Rashid Khan (119), Lasith Malinga (107) and Ish Sodhi (104)
New Zealand vs Afghanistan: Pre-match talk
Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi: “New Zealand played against Australia a good game, first good game. It was totally, I think, different conditions in Sydney and Melbourne. Both sides, as well, is different and hopefully we can deliver well in this tournament”
New Zealand vs Afghanistan: Pre-match talk
New Zealand’s Trent Boult: “I’ve been playing for New Zealand for nearly 12 years and have never been able to beat Australia in a white ball game in Australia. To do it on that stage, yeah, it was probably one of the more prouder moments in the Black Cap strip for me, to come in and set the tone in such a big game of the World Cup, and I know the boys were buzzing, but it quickly gets moved on, and like I said, the focus switches to the next game, and after that it’s going to be the same thing. Just looking forward to, I suppose, repeating those performances and keep on setting that tone and go from there”
New Zealand vs Afghanistan: Pitch talk
Plenty of focus will be on the conditions at the MCG. If India vs Pakistan is an indication, there was pace and swing on offer which would certainly please New Zealand. England vs Ireland, going on right now, has seen bit of rain which makes things even more appealing for the fast bowlers.
“I believe we’re in a new strip again. It looked like there was a bit of pace and a bit of bounce in the surface, which is always exciting as a fast bowler,” said Trent Boult.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan TEAM NEWS
New Zealand camp: Daryl Mitchell completed his training successfully coming into the contest and will be available. Remains to be seen whether he comes right back into the playing XI
Afghanistan: No reported issues for the Mohammad Nabi-led side
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Head-to-head
New Zealand and Afghanistan have only ever faced off in one T20I and it came at the 2021 World Cup. New Zealand won that match by 8 wickets with 11 balls to spare. On that day, Afghanistan scored 124 which was chased down comfortably by the Black Caps. Kane Williamson scored an unbeaten 40 from 42 balls and Devon Conway added 36 from 32 balls
New Zealand vs Afghanistan
Second fixture of the T20 World Cup for both New Zealand and Afghanistan. Contrast results in their first. New Zealand thoroughly thrashed Australia to win by 89 runs. Elsewhere, Afghanistan were dismissed for a low total and then lost by 5 wickets to England. To Afghanistan’s, things could have been worse but for the bowlers containing England and keeping the negative net run rate down.