ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023: Can Afghanistan strike a hat-trick of wins as they take on Netherlands next?
Having won two matches on the trot for the first time in World Cups, the spirited Afghanistan team is still in contention for making it to the semi-finals. They would fancy their chances further as they take on Netherlands next, a team that is struggling despite beating South Africa and Bangladesh in their journey so far.
The 34th match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will take place between Afghanistan and Netherlands at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on November 3.
Head-to-Head
Afghanistan and Netherlands have played nine ODIs against each other between 2009 and 2022, of which Afghanistan have won seven and Netherlands have won two. In India, they have never played an ODI against each other. Also, it will be their first World Cup meeting.
| Particulars | Afghanistan | Netherlands |
| ICC ODI Rankings | 9 | 14 |
| Wins in ODIs | 7 | 2 |
Performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 so far..
Afghanistan and Netherlands will play their seventh match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. While Afghanistan have looked a relatively formidable side winning three of their six games, Netherlands have struggled with two wins of their six outings.
| Match number | Afghanistan | Netherlands |
| 1 | Lost to Bangladesh by 6 wickets | Lost to Pakistan by 81 runs |
| 2 | Lost to India by 8 wickets | Lost to New Zealand by 99 runs |
| 3 | Beat England by 69 runs | Beat South Africa by 38 runs |
| 4 | Lost to New Zealand by 149 runs | Lost to Sri Lanka by 5 wickets |
| 5 | Beat Pakistan by 8 wickets | Lost to Australia by 309 runs |
| 6 | Beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets | Beat Bangladesh by 87 runs |
Squads
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.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
Injury updates
Afghanistan’s wicket-keeper Ikram Alikhil injured his finger during the game against Sri Lanka. If he is fit, he will feature for Afghanistan against Netherlands. Besides there are no other injury concerns for both teams.
Playing conditions
Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow will host the encounter between Afghanistan and Netherlands. It will be a day and night match. The venue will host its fifth and last match of this tournament. The teams batting first and second have won two games each. The last match played here was a relatively low scoring affair with team batting first scoring 229 and later being able to defend it successfully.
Weather
The weather is expected to be hazy. The maximum temperature attained during the day will be 31 degrees Celsius. There will be no cloud cover and 1% chance of rain. The wind will blow from the west.
Players to watch out for
Hashmatullah Shahidi: The captain of Afghanistan has been in great form with the bat. He is the leading run scorer for his team with 226 runs in six matches at an average of 57 and strike rate of 73.
Rashid Khan: The leg spinner can spin a web to entangle any opposition. He has claimed seven wickets in six matches. Besides, he can be a handy lower order batter.
Scott Edwards: Netherlands’ captain has been impressive with the bat, muscling 204 runs in six matches at an average of 51 and strike rate of 91. He has been excellent behind the stumps too.
Bas de Leede: The Dutch all-rounder is the most successful bowler for his team with 11 wickets in six matches, including one four-fer. With the bat, he has accumulated 114 runs, including the best of 67.
Milestones alert
Rahmat Shah needs 19 runs to complete 3500 ODI runs
Mujeeb Ur Rehman needs 1 wicket to complete 100 ODI wickets
Scott Edwards needs 84 runs to complete 1500 ODI runs
Vikramjit Singh needs 94 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Match details
Date: November 3, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Live streaming: Star Sports, Hotstar
All the statistics are sourced from ESPN Cricinfo