ICC Men’s CWC 2023: Confident Afghanistan ready for the Kiwi challenge; another ‘upset’ on the cards?
After an emphatic 69-run win over the defending champions England on October 15 at Delhi, Afghanistan will feel confident as they take on New Zealand next.
The 16th match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be played between New Zealand and Afghanistan on October 18 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Head-to-Head
New Zealand and Afghanistan have played two ODIs against each other between 2015 and 2019, of which New Zealand have won both. These two ODIs were played during the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
| Particulars | New Zealand | Afghanistan |
| ICC ODI Rankings | 5 | 9 |
| Performance in ODIs overall | 2 | 0 |
| At World Cups | 2 | 0 |
Performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 so far…
New Zealand and Afghanistan will play their fourth match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Both teams have had contrasting starts to their World Cup campaign. While New Zealand have won their first three matches, Afghanistan have lost their first two matches and won the third one. The only point of commonality is that both the teams have defeated England in this World Cup.
| Particulars | New Zealand | Afghanistan |
| Match 1 | Beat England by 9 wickets | Lost to Bangladesh by 6 wickets |
| Match 2 | Beat Netherlands by 99 runs | Lost to India by 8 wickets |
| Match 3 | Beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets | Beat England by 69 runs |
New Zealand v Afghanistan: Squads, Injury updates, Playing conditions, Weather, and Players to watch out for
Squads
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
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
New Zealand have suffered a big blow as their captain Kane Williamson, who had recovered from knee injury, is again injured. Williamson fractured his left thumb during the match against Bangladesh on October 13 when a throw hit him. Having missed out on the first two matches, he returned with an unbeaten 78 in New Zealand’s third encounter. However, the left thumb fracture is likely to keep him out of action for some time. Tom Latham will lead New Zealand in Williamson’s absence. On the other hand, Afghanistan have no fitness concerns.
Playing conditions
MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will host the encounter between New Zealand and Afghanistan. It will be a day night match. While Afghanistan will play their first ODI at this venue, New Zealand have played five, having won two, lost two, with one match not producing a result. The venue will host its third game of this tournament. The teams batting second have won the first two matches played here. The average first innings score is 222. Expect spinners to have an impact in the match.
Weather
The weather is expected to be partly sunny. The maximum temperature attained during the day will be 32 degrees Celsius. The cloud cover will be 47% and there could be 25% chance of rain. The wind will blow from the north-east.
Players to watch out for
For New Zealand, their left-handed opening batter Devon Conway will have a key role to play. He has scored the bulk of the runs for his team. With 229 runs in three matches, including the best of 152 not out against England in the World Cup opener, Conway averages 115 and has a strike rate of 104. He will be expected to provide a solid start. Among the bowlers, left arm spinner Mitchell Santner has been the most successful for the Kiwis, with eight wickets in three matches. Santner has bowled well in the middle phase of the innings.
For Afghanistan, their right-handed opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz will grab the attention. He scored a brilliant 80 against England in his last outing and stitched a 114-run partnership with Ibrahim Zadran for the first wicket. Besides, the spin trio of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, and Mohammad Nabi, who picked eight of the 10 English wickets, will have to bowl well in tandem again against New Zealand.
Match details
Date: October 18, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Live streaming: Star Sports, Hotstar
All the statistics are sourced from ESPN Cricinfo