ICC T20 World Cup, NZ vs AFG – Mohammad Nabi wins the toss and Afghanistan will bat first

Afghanistan have won the toss and they are batting first. Afghanistan will take on New Zealand in the most important match of the ICC T20 World Cup as it involves their qualification chances, Team India’s passage and New Zealand’s entry into the semi-finals. This would have been a routine game if everything went according to plans but cricket is a game of uncertainties and this clash will eventually decide who goes through and who is out of the contention.

New Zealand have a strong squad that is capable of defeating the Mohammad Nabi led team. After their defeat against Pakistan, New Zealand have enjoyed playing the global tournament.

Afghanistan has looked good in patches but they still lack the determination to upset the big teams in ICC events.

If they beat New Zealand, India will have a chance to book their place in the last-four stage but if the Kiwis come on top, it’s game over for the Men in Blue and Afghanistan. Afghanistan have never faced New Zealand in T20Is. The pitch as Abu Dhabi has been good for the batters as it gets flattened out as the match progress.

Afghanistan (Playing XI): 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 4 Gulbadin Naib, 5 Najibullah Zadran, 6 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 7 Karim Janat, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Hamid Hassan.

New Zealand (Playing XI): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Daryl Mitchell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway (wk), 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 James Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Adam Milne, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Trent Boult.