New Zealand and Afghanistan will clash with one another in match 40 of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday on November 7 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Black Caps are on a three-match winning streak and have bounced back after their loss to Pakistan.
Now, a win against Afghanistan will surely see them qualify for the semi-final while a defeat will see them being ousted from the T20 World Cup. Afghanistan lost to India by 66 runs and they too need to win this match against New Zealand.
The pitch in Abu Dhabi has been quite good in the last few games – the batters have managed to score runs while the bowlers too have got a lot of assistance. In the recent games, batting first and putting up runs on the board has been the preferred option for sides.
Afghanistan bowling attack led by Naveen-ul-Haq and spinner Rashid Khan will pose a challenge for the Kiwi batters and both the Afghanistan and the Indian fans would hope Mujeeb-ur-Rehman gains his fitness back to bolster the Afghanistan bowling attack.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan predicted playing XI:
New Zealand Probable Playing XI: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Afghanistan Probable Playing XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf/Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan
New Zealand vs Afghanistan squads:
New Zealand’s 15-man squad: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
Reserves named by New Zealand for T20 World Cup: Adam Milne
Afghanistan’s 15-man squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq
Reserves named by Afghanistan for T20 World Cup: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi
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