New Zealand will take on Afghanistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday in the 16th match of the ongoing World Cup 2023. The Kiwis have got off to a perfect start as they have won all of their three matches and they will look to continue the winning impetus.
On the other hand, Afghanistan had stunned defending champions England by 69 runs in their previous game and they will aim to keep up the good show. The Chennai track is expected to provide assistance to Afghanistan’s spinners and they will look to make the most of the conditions as they did in Delhi.
Mujeeb ur Rahman and Rashid Khan were right on the money against the reigning champions as they scalped three wickets each. Furthermore, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a blistering knock of 80 runs to help Afghanistan post a competitive score of 284 runs on the board.
Meanwhile, New Zealand continued their good show against Bangladesh in their previous game, registering an eight-wicket victory at Chennai. However, the Kiwis suffered a blow as their skipper Kane Williamson, who was making a return after recovering from a knee injury, took a blow to his thumb, which will keep him out of action for the upcoming games. Thus, Tom Latham will once again take back the captaincy hat.
The Blackcaps have ticked all the right boxes as a unit in the ongoing ODI showpiece and they will aim to continue the good show.
Match Prediction: New Zealand will enter the contest as favorites against Afghanistan but they will not want to take the opposition lightly.
Afghanistan squad: 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.
New Zealand squad: 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.
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