Australia vs Afghanistan, Match 39
ICC World Cup, 7 November, 2023, 2 PM IST, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Australia and Afghanistan will face each other in the 39th match of the Cricket World Cup in India. The match is set to take place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 7 and will commence at 2 PM IST.
This is also the last week of the league stage at this World Cup and the race for semifinal qualification has heated up.
Australia vs Afghanistan head to head stats and records ODI 2023
Australia are sitting pretty in the points table in terms of making it to top four. They started their tournament in a not-so-good way, losing to India and South Africa.
But they managed to win their next four matches comfortably including the one against the Netherlands when they registered the biggest win in ODI World Cup history by 309 runs.
On the other hand, Afghanistan are surprisingly still in the hunt to make it to the semifinals and that is where their massive improvement in ODI cricket gets highlighted. They defeated teams like England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the league stage and can surprise even bigger teams.
However, to beat a team like Australia, they will have to play the best cricket of their life. The five-time champions could be too good for Hashmatullah Shahidi and his men, but cricket is a game of uncertainties, and Afghanistan will be looking to turn the tables on the Aussies.
The Australia vs Afghanistan prediction is a straightforward one, with Pat Cummins and his troops licking their lips to add two more points to their name. Afghanistan cannot afford to lose this match and that makes it for an interesting viewing as their never-give-up attitude will definitely come to the fore in this encounter.
With the match set to be played at the Wankhede Stadium, we can see the ball moving in the air a lot especially under the lights, which could be trouble for batters early on while batting second. If Afghanistan bat first and post a decent total on the board, we could be in for a thriller.
Team Form, Last 5 Matches for Afghanistan: W-W-L-W-L
Team Form, Last 5 Matches for the Australia: W-W-W-W-L
Fastest World Cup centuries ever: List of quickest WC tons
Contents
AUS vs AFG Match Preview
Australia
Australia find themselves a little crippled in terms of player availability with clouds on Glenn Maxwellโs fitness. Even Mitchell Marsh is unavailable due to personal reasons, as he has flown back home.
Having said that, Travis Headโs return to the playing XI has certainly bolstered their batting up the order while this encounter also gives more time to the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to get their mojo back.
The bowling attack comprising Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa seems unperturbed at the moment.
Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter: Travis Head
Probable Best Bowler: Mitchell Starc
Probable Playing XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (WK), Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey/Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (C), Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan
Afghanistan continue to fret over an injury to Ikram Alikhil, the man who changed things for them in the middle order and secured valuable points. Najibullah Zadran will replace him in the playing XI if he is unfit even as there are no updates on Ikram. Apart from that, the team looks pretty settled and they are clear with their roles as well.
Also, the likes of Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq will have to take more responsibility to strike early against big teams. Even the death overs bowling is a worry for Afghanistan while Azmatullah Omarzai will be key too with both bat and ball. His all-round ability has lend a lot of solidity to the team.
Probable Best Perfomers
Probable Best Batter: Azmatullah Omarzai
Probable Best Bowler: Rashid Khan
Probable Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil/Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Pitch Report and Predicted Weather Conditions for AUS vs AFG
The surface at the Wankhede Stadium has kept the bowlers in the game big time, especially under the lights. The batters have found it tough to survive with the new ball while chasing a total so far.
In all three matches, teams batting first have posted massive totals and defended it rather comfortably. The team winning the toss this time should opt to bat first.
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai ODI Records
Total Matches: 32
Match Won batting first: 17
Match won bowling first: 15
Average 1st innings score: 247
Average 2nd innings score: 196
Expected weather condition: There is no chance of rain whatsoever in Mumbai on November 7 (Tuesday). Perhaps, it will be extremely hot and humid and we might see players taking a lot of breaks in afternoon. The temperature is expected to hover around 30-35 Degrees Celsius during the match.
Australia vs Afghanistan Dream11 Match Prediction
Wicket-keepers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Josh Inglis
Batters: David Warner, Travis Head, Rahmat Shah
All-rounders: Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi
Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Rashid Khan
Recommended Captain: Mitchell Starc
Recommended Vice-captain: Travis Head
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ & ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ! ๐
Job well done by @IkramAlikhil15 and he gets a high five from the fielding coach ๐ซธ#AfghanAtalan | #CWC23 | #AFGvNED | #WarzaMaidanGata pic.twitter.com/euqHcAI7Gl
โ Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) November 3, 2023
It is important to have more players from Australia in your Dream11 Fantasy team for this match. Also, if Australia are batting first, then it could be imperative to make Mitchell Starc captain as he can run through Afghanistan line-up with new ball under lights.
Apart from him, Warner and Head are must-picks while Omarzai and Nabi along with Rashid could be key players from the Afghanistan side in Dream11 Fantasy cricket. Cummins and Hazlewood are also must-picks in the bowling department.
David Warner centuries in international cricket
Australia vs Afghanistan win prediction: Australia to win
Hands down, Australia are the favourites to seal their clash against Afghanistan and make their semifinal qualification a mere formality.
The five-time champions are known not only to win but thump the opposition and they will be looking to make a statement as the knockouts of World Cup arrive.
