New Zealand vs Afghanistan Match is the 16th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 and will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In this match, while New Zealand would like to get 2 points, Afghanistan would like to pull off another upset. The Kiwis will never make the mistake of taking Afghanistan lightly as Afghanistan has made their intentions clear by defeating defending champions England by 69 runs in their last match. It is not easy for Kiwi’s team to win this match because the pitch of Chennai is suitable for spinners and the Afghanistan team has excellent spinners the biggest names are Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Tight killer Afghani challenge will not be easy for New Zealand
By defeating the current champion England, Afghanistan has raised alarm bells for all the teams in the World Cup and New Zealand will definitely not make the mistake of taking it lightly in the match to be held here on Wednesday.
The New Zealand team would like to continue its unbeaten campaign in the tournament, while Afghanistan, which defeated England by 16 runs in the last match in Delhi, will be aiming to cause another upset.
New Zealand has won three matches so far and is in second place behind outsiders on the basis of run rate, while Afghanistan was defeated by Bangladesh and India in the first two matches, but in the third match, Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team created a new history by defeating a stalwart like England.
The command will once again be in the hands of the wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Latham because regular captain Kane Williamson is out of some matches due to a fracture in his thumb.
New Zealand has batsmen like Devon Conway and Will Young in the top order while Rachin Ravindra has also performed effectively.
Now they will face the spin of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, who have troubled England a lot. On the Chepok turning wicket, they can also prove to be a threat to batting.
For Afghanistan, opener batsman Rahmatullah Gurbaz has scored half-centuries in two matches while captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Ikram Alikhil have also played useful innings. Now they will face the pace of Trent Boult and Mark Henry and the spin of Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Match Details
Match: New Zealand vs Afghanistan, ICC World Cup 16th Match
Date: Wednesday, 18 Oct 2023
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
World Cup 2023 Schedule: All Teams and Squad list, Stadium list
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Match: Pitch Report
The pitch of MA Chidambaram Stadium is suitable for both batting and bowling, but due to the slow pitch, the batsmen will face difficulty in batting. Due to the pitch being dry and slow, it can be helpful for spin bowlers and slow bowlers. Batting in the second innings is difficult here, hence the captain can decide to bat first after winning the toss.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Match: Wheather Report
There is no possibility of rain in the Afghanistan vs New Zealand match in Chennai, the temperature here will range from 29 degrees to 32 degrees. The dew factor can be seen in the last phase of the game.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Match Head to Head
Afghanistan and New Zealand have faced each other only twice so far, in which New Zealand has won both the matches and both these matches have taken place in the ODI World Cup. The first match was held in Napier in 2015 and the second match was held in Taunton in 2019.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Match: Probable Playing XI
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan ,Ikram Alikhil , Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham(wk)(c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Mark Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi and Trent Boult.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan: When, where and How to watch
The New Zealand vs Afghanistan match will be live on Indian television via Star Sports Channels. Indian viewers can also enjoy free live streaming of these matches on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website. The match will start live from MA Chidambaram Stadium at 2:00 p.m.
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Cricketers who have played 5 or more ICC Cricket ODI World Cups