🏏ICC Men's T20I WC 2022: Super 12 - Group 1 - NZ vs AFG - 26/10/22🏏

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Super 12 - Group 1

New Zealand vs Afghanistan 26/10/2022 at 1:30 PM IST at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne

New Zealand had a rather special win in their opening encounter, trouncing Australia in Australia for the first time since 2009. It is a victory that Trent Boult said left plenty of smiles in the dressing room, and a lot of pride. The victory and the manner of it also set the tone for New Zealand to be right amongst the top contenders to go ahead from the Super 12. In that bid, their game against Afghanistan presents a route to race ahead. However, they will be wary of the slippery nature of the opposition who have proven to be more than capable of holding their own.

The two teams operate with contrasting bowling strengths that have both proven to be effective in the tournament. Additionally, New Zealand have also produced the best batting performance, and the highest score so far of World Cup 2022. In a tournament that hasn't yet seen high-scoring encounters, their dominance with the bat came as a whiff of fresh air all the while revealing how dangerous they can be.

The focus will also be on the conditions on offer, especially after what transpired when India met Pakistan here a couple of days earlier. With pace and swing on offer, the MCG sprang a surprise. A lot of that has to do with the time of the year the match is being played, with summer still a few weeks away. It has also caught the teams unaware.

"At that time in Big Bash, it was drier. The ball swings early on, for one or two overs, but after that it will be a little bit slower, less help for spinners, and the ball won't swing that much. But here the pitch is new and also a little bit green, as well, and also the weather is cold. It takes four or five overs, the ball swinging," said Mohammad Nabi. "I believe we're in a new strip again. It looked like there was a bit of pace and a bit of bounce in the surface, which is always exciting as a fast bowler," said Trent Boult.

Pitch Report:

The Melbourne Cricket Ground-MCG pitch is considered to be one of the most competitive surfaces in the world. Everyone gets to play their roles at some point of time in the match. While pacers get assistance early in the innings, batters can play their strokes freely in the latter half. Meanwhile, spinners can make use of bigger boundaries.

Weather Forecast:

According to weather.com, the temperature will be between 14-20 degrees Celsius on match day -the 26th of October, Wednesday. The chances of rain will be between 80-90%. Humidity will be between 83-91%. Winds will be from the West/ South West direction and variable (9-15 km/h).

Pitch and conditions:

Nabi, who has played for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, said he has never seen an MCG pitch so green. "Yes, at that time in Big Bash, it was drier," Nabi said on Tuesday. "The ball swings early on for one or two overs, but after that it will be a little bit slower, [some] help for spinners, and the ball won't swing that much.

"But here the pitch is new and also a little bit green. as well, and also the weather is cold." If the India-Pakistan game was anything to go by, there could be some early swing, which would pique the interest of Farooqi and Boult. Both Afghanistan and New Zealand will have the benefit of watching what unfolds in the game prior to theirs, with Ireland facing England first up in the afternoon.

There is an 80% chance of rain on Wednesday, according to the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology.

New Zealand

Injured/Unavailable: Daryl Mitchell completed his training successfully and will be available for selection. Whether he will be brought back against Afghanistan remains to be seen.

Tactics & Matchups: After Afghanistan came up short against England, the focus will be on NZ's pacers against Afghanistan's batters once again. Boasting of an in-form swing-pace attack in what is likely to be pace-friendly conditions, the troika of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson are set to have a big say in the outcome of the game. How Afghanistan's batters bounce back after the Sam Curran-induced collapse will be a battle to look forward to.

Probable XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Afghanistan

Injured/Unavailable: There has been no reported injuries for Afghanistan

Tactics & Matchups: While New Zealand made the battle against Australia's pace attack look pretty easy, their trial by spin against Afghanistan's top-quality spin attack will be a newer, varied challenge. While pace dominated in the India-Pakistan game, playing on a used pitch could also offer Afghanistan's spinners some assistance.

Probable XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmed, Fazalhaq Farooqi

I've been playing for New Zealand for nearly 12 years and have never been able to beat Australia in a white ball game in Australia. To do it on that stage, yeah, it was probably one of the more prouder moments in the Black Cap strip for me, to come in and set the tone in such a big game of the World Cup, and I know the boys were buzzing, but it quickly gets moved on, and like I said, the focus switches to the next game, and after that it's going to be the same thing. Just looking forward to, I suppose, repeating those performances and keep on setting that tone and go from there - Trent Boult

New Zealand played against Australia a good game, first good game. It was totally, I think, different conditions in Sydney and Melbourne. Both sides, as well, is different and hopefully we can deliver well in this tournament - Mohammad Nabi

Recent Venue Records (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)

Stats- T20Is

Total matches- 19

Matches won batting first- 7

Matches won bowling first- 11

Average 1st Inns scores- 140

Average 2nd Inns scores- 129

Highest total recorded- 184/4 (20 Ov) by AUSW vs INDW

Lowest total recorded- 74/10 (17.3 Ov) by IND vs AUS

Highest score chased- 172/5 (20 Ov) by SL vs AUS

Lowest score defended- 127/10 (18.4 Ov) by AUS vs PAK

In the spotlight

Hitting sixes at the MCG is bloody difficult unless you are Virat Kohli. Afghanistan's six-or-nothing batting template, which is fairly comparable to West Indies', may not quite suit the conditions in Australia. This is where Ibrahim Zadran comes in as a key player on the batting front. Zadran isn't a big hitter like Rahmanullah Gurbaz or Hazratullah Zazai, but has both the technique and temperament to construct or reconstruct an innings. The 20-year-old's recent form is also encouraging: he has thirty-plus scores in each of his last five T20I innings.

Last weekend, Mark Wood exposed Afghanistan's vulnerability against high pace and bounce. New Zealand will now unleash a fit-again Lockie Ferguson on them. There is also a case for them to pair up Ferguson with Adam Milne at the MCG. When Afghanistan faced New Zealand in the last World Cup, Ferguson, who was injured at the time, was only doing light training with Chris Donaldson. This is now his chance to stamp his authority on the T20 World Cup.

Stats and trivia

Conway became the fastest New Zealander - and third-fastest batter overall - to 1000 T20I runs on Saturday, getting there in his 26th innings.

Neesham has struck at 204.16 in T20Is this year at the death. Only Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka (210.61) has a better strike rate than Neesham among batters who have faced at least 90 balls at the death (overs 17-20). Hardik Pandya, Rovman Powell and Dinesh Karthik round out the top five in this list.

Gurbaz has struggled against left-arm fingerspin in T20Is, managing just 77 runs off 91 balls at a strike rate of just under 85 while being dismissed five times. Expect New Zealand match Santner up with Gurbaz in the powerplay.

Mujeeb is four wickets away from 50 strikes in T20Is. He will become the third Afghanistan bowler to the landmark after Rashid and Nabi.

Thank you, Raji, for the thread and tagging me. ❤️

Thanks for the thread and tagging me, @Raji! 🤗

NZ is surely gonna win this match against lesser known team AFG!