ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023: With all eyes on semi-final spot, Australia take on Afghanistan

The five-time world champions Australia are just a win away from qualifying for the semi-final. Having started their World Cup campaign with two unexpected losses, Australia fought back and won the next five. They take on Afghanistan, a team that has been the dark horse in this tournament. They have already defeated the defending champions England, Netherlands, and the Asian powerhouses Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Given the surprising success, Australia will not take Afghanistan lightly at all. Not to forget, Afghanistan, too, have an outside chance of qualifying for the semi-final, if they win atleast one of their remaining two fixtures.

 

The match number 39 of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will see Australia taking on Afghanistan at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

 

Head-to-Head

Australia and Afghanistan have played three ODIs against each other between 2012 and 2019 and Australia have won all of them. In India, they have never played an ODI against each other. At the World Cups, they have met twice, with Australia emerging victorious on both occasions.

 

Particulars	Australia	Afghanistan
ICC ODI Rankings	2	9
Wins in ODIs	3	0
At World Cups	2	0

  

Performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 so far..

Australia and Afghanistan will play their eighth match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Of the seven matches, Australia have won five, after losing their first two matches, while Afghanistan have won four. Australia have won their last three matches defending the score, whereas Afghanistan have won their last three matches chasing the target.

 

Match number	Australia	Afghanistan
1	Lost to India by 6 wickets	Lost to Bangladesh by 6 wickets
2	Lost to South Africa by 134 runs	Lost to India by 8 wickets
3	Beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets	Beat England by 69 runs
4	Beat Pakistan by 62 runs	Lost to New Zealand by 149 runs
5	Beat Netherlands by 309 runs	Beat Pakistan by 8 wickets
6	Beat New Zealand by 5 runs	Beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets
7	Beat England by 33 runs	Beat Netherlands by 7 wickets

 

 

Squads

 

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.

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

 

Injury updates

Australia’s all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh, who missed the England match are available for selection. Maxwell was out due to injury that he suffered after falling off from a golf cart, while Marsh had to return to Australia to visit his ailing maternal grandfather, who sadly passed away on Friday.

 

 

Playing conditions

Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host the encounter between Australia and Afghanistan. It will be a day night match. The venue will host its fourth match of this tournament. The teams batting first have won the first three matches played here by big margins. The conditions are favourable for batting in the first innings. In the second innings, under lights, the new ball tends to move and cause problems for the batters.

 

 

Weather

The weather is expected to be very warm. The maximum temperature attained during the day will be 37 degrees Celsius. There will be 60% cloud cover and 1% chance of rain. The wind will blow from the south-southeast.

 

 

Players to watch out for

David Warner: The dashing Australian opening batter is the leading run scorer for his team with 428 runs in seven matches at an average of 61 and strike rate of 112. He has been providing brisk starts and setting the tone of the game.

Adam Zampa: The Australia’s leg spinner has been outstanding with 19 wickets in seven matches, including three four-fers. Despite having a celebrated pace trio around him, the wily spinner has made a mark for himself.

Hashmatullah Shahidi: He is the captain cool of Afghanistan. Leading from the front, the right-handed middle order batter has scored 282 runs in seven matches at an unreal average of 71 and strike rate of 75.

Rashid Khan: He is the magic spinner of Afghanistan. Though his seven wickets in as many games may not speak about his bowling prowess, he is one of the most difficult bowlers to get away with. Besides, he is more than handy with the bat lower down the order.

 

 

Milestones alert

• David Warner (6) needs one century to equal Rohit Sharma (7), who has the most centuries in World Cups and 80 runs to complete 1500 runs in World Cups

• Mitchell Marsh needs 44 runs to complete 2500 ODI runs

• Marcus Stoinis needs 19 runs to complete 1500 ODI runs

 

 

Match details

Date: November 7, 2023

Time: 2:00 PM IST

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Live streaming: Star Sports, Hotstar

 

 

 

All the statistics are sourced from ESPN Cricinfo