New Zealand will take on Afghanistan in the
40th fixture of the ICC T20 World Cup. It is a must win encounter
for both sides if they wish to book a berth in the semi finals of the
tournament. The match will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium and will have
a direct impact on India’s chances of qualification.

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It’s a three-horse race for the final
qualification spot in the Super 12 Group 2 with Pakistan having qualified by
registering 4 wins in 4 games.

Kane Williamson’s side sits on the second
spot in the table and is in pole position to qualify. On the other hand, if
Afghanistan manage to win with a good margin then they will keep their chances
of reaching the semi-finals alive.

Since their stumbling loss to Pakistan in
the opening fixture, the Blackcaps have managed to regain their footing. They
will step into the match with confidence having won their last three games against
India, Scotland and Namibia in dominating fashion.

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The Kiwi’s bowling order is filled to the
brim with experience and skills to beat the best batting line-ups in the world
and the Afghani batters will have a monumental task ahead of putting runs on
the board.

The likes of Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad
Shahzad and Gulbadan Naib will be up against Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi and Tim
Southee.

On the other hand, the Afghanis aren’t
short of quality bowling options either. Their attack will be led by Rashid
Khan who has the ability of exploiting the Kiwi’s weakness against spin.
Although, the absence of Mujeeb-ur-Rahman will considerably weaken the Afghani
bowling attack.

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The Indians will be rooting for Afghanistan
as the only way for their team to qualify is by bettering Afghanistan’s run
rate if the Kiwis lose. However, a win for New Zealand would be the end of
India’s T20 World Cup campaign.

The Teams:

Afghanistan: Mohammed
Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ahmed Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen ul Haq, Rashid
Khan, Hamid Hasan, Rahamnaullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujeeb
ur Rahman, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Fareed Ahmed, Usman Ghani.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell,
Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish
Sodhi, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Kyle Jamieson, Todd
Astle.