New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Match 16 ICC World Cup
18 October 2023, 2:00pm IST, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Here's our New Zealand vs Afghanistan Dream11 prediction before the two teams take on each other in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
Match no. 16 of the tournament will have New Zealand (NZ) battle Afghanistan (AFG) in Chennai on 18 October. This will be a day-night fixture, scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM IST.
Despite entering the ICC World Cup 2023 with only one win in the tournament history, Afghanistan weaved their magic on England in the last match.
After losing to Bangladesh and India, not many gave them a chance to take down the defending champions, but a comprehensive all-round performance helped them achieve a historic win.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have won all their matches at the ICC World Cup 2023 and are cruising with confidence. After dismantling England in the opening match of the tournament, the Kiwis went on to pick up big wins against the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
Kane Williamson and his troops are looking on course to reach the semi-finals for the fifth consecutive edition.
While Afghanistan now find themselves a huge opening to make their mark in the tournament, the in-form New Zealand challenge will only be a lot tougher.
Team Form, Last 5 Matches for Afghanistan: L-L-L-L-L
Team Form, Last 5 Matches for England: W-L-W-NR-W-W
New Zealand vs Afghanistan where to watch: Broadcast channel and live streaming
Contents
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Match Preview
New Zealand
New Zealand reached the finals of the last two editions where they suffered heartbreaks, but that doesn’t seem to faze them in India. They are once again off to a terrific start and registered three comprehensive victories on the trot.
Williamson returned to the starting XI in the match against Bangladesh and took over captaincy responsibilities from Tom Latham. Mushfiqur Rahim (66 off 75 balls) and Mahmudullah (41* off 49 balls) steered Bangladesh to a respectable total of 245/9 after a shaky start.
Williamson (78 off 107 balls) and Daryl Mitchell (89* off 67 balls) steered the Kiwis to a comfortable win in the run chase, getting to the target in only 42.5 overs.
The New Zealand batting department has shone throughout the tournament but another terrible injury to Kane Williamson puts them on the backfoot. Tom Blundell has been called as a cover and Williamson has been ruled out indefinitely from the tournament.
Afghanistan have a world-class spin department and their success depends on how they tackle the spin attack.
Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter: Devon Conway
Probable Best Bowler: Trent Boult
#StatChat | On his way to 200 ODI wickets, Trent Boult has been most successful against Australia with 39 wickets from the 15 ODIs he's played against our near neighbours so far in his career. His best return in those matches is 6-33 at Seddon Park in 2017. #NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/kcubWQVOQL
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 16, 2023
Possible Playing XI
Devon Conway, Will Young Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham (C & wk), Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Afghanistan
Following their six-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the opening game, Afghanistan took an eight-wicket beating at the hands of India in the second game. However, the big surprise came in their third match, when they produced an all-round masterclass against England to win only their second match in 50-over World Cup history.
Batting first, Afghanistan got off to a stellar start with Rahmanullah Gurbaz (80 off 57 balls) providing them a terrific start. Courtesy of Ikram Alikhil’s half-century and crucial cameos from Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Afghanistan scored 284 runs.
Rahman and Khan picked up three wickets each in the run chase, while Mohammad Nabi chipped in with a brace, as England were bowled out for only 215 runs.
The spin trio of Khan, Rahman and Nabi will be key for Afghanistan in this contest against New Zealand, as they will now play two consecutive matches in the most spinner-friendly conditions in the country.
Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter: Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Probable Best Bowler: Rashid Khan
𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬! 👊
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 17, 2023
AfghanAtalan have put in some hard yards this afternoon at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk ahead of their next game against New Zealand. 🤩#AfghanAtalan | #CWC23 | #AFGvNZ | #WarzaMaidanGata pic.twitter.com/2CYnuPGec2
Possible Playing XI
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Pitch Report and Expected Weather Conditions for New Zealand vs Afghanistan
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Pitch Report: The pitches have historically been slow and spin-friendly. The two matches played at this venue so far have not produced high-scoring encounters and Wednesday’s encounter is likely to provide a similar outcome.
MA Chidambaram Stadium ODI Records
Matches: 36
Matches Won Batting First: 17
Matches Won Batting Second: 18
Average First Innings Score: 224
Average Second Innings Score: 206
Expected Weather Condition: The weather in Chennai is likely to be typically sunny on October 18th, with the temperatures dropping down towards the second half of the day. It could get partly cloudy in the evening but there's no threat of rain. The temperature should range between 26 to 32 degree Celsius.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Dream11 Match Prediction
Wicket-keepers: Devon Conway, Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Batters: Hashmatullah Shahidi, Daryll Mitchell, Glenn Phillips
All-rounders: Mohammad Nabi, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra
Bowlers: Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Recommended Captain: Devon Conway
Recommended Vice-captain: Rashid Khan
Based on the results so far at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, you should bank on spinners to do the job. The Dream11 team has been picked with the assumption that the conditions will remain slow and we have gone with five spinning options, who are bound to bowl a lot of overs and take wickets while saving runs.
Being the better of both sides, we have picked six players from New Zealand. Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra have already proven their mettle in the tournament and the likes of Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner can be valuable additions too. Trent Boult has the experience of bowling in slow Indian conditions and hence, he gets a nod among fast bowlers in both teams.
From Afghanistan, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who smashed a terrific fifty last match, gets the nod alongside skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi. Rashid Khan will be a key player in this game alongside Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi, hence the spin trio of Afghanistan are all included in our Dream11 prediction.
Devon Conway is one of the leading run-scorers in the tournament and has the highest individual score registered so far at the ICC World Cup 2023. Rashid Khan, on the other hand, picked up three handy wickets against England. You can back these two as the captain or vice-captain for this game.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan win prediction: New Zealand to win
Despite their obvious strengths, Afghanistan will not find it very easy to go up against New Zealand. Their batters, despite the absence of Williamson, are well experienced to cope with spin and they also have the better bowling attack. Our tip is that it will not be smooth sailing, but New Zealand are predicted to win this contest.
