T20 World Cup 2022: Match 21 - Predicted Afghanistan Playing XI vs New Zealand

After a five-wicket defeat at the hands of England, Afghanistan will be looking to register their first points when they lock horns with an in-form New Zealand in their second ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 encounter at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday, October 26. 

The Afghans might have suffered a batting collapse on a tough Perth surface with star all-rounder Sam Curran registering a match-winning fifer and bowling the Asian side for a below-par 112, but the bowlers refused to give up and fought valiantly right till the very end and ensured that they accounted for half of the Three Lions' batters.

This is a must-win game for Afghanistan as they cannot afford to falter from here else it will make it complicated for them to progress to the next stage of the tournament. Meanwhile, the Mohammad Nabi-led side would not be keen on any experimentations and would like to go with the same playing XI.

Let’s look at Afghanistan's probable playing XI against New Zealand:

Openers: Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)

Hazratullah Zazai can be a very handy opener and has the ability to play some big shots in the powerplay overs. However, he struggled big time in the last game and could only score seven runs off 17 deliveries which ended up putting early pressure on Afghanistan.

Rahmanaullah Gurbaz is one of the valuable assets of Afghan batting and can take the match away from any opposition with his brisk strokes. He is known to target the new-ball bowlers right from the word 'go'. Gurbaz, who scored only ten runs against England would be eyeing a big knock against New Zealand.

Middle-Order: Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Usman Ghani

Ibrahim Zadran is known for being Afghanistan's middle-order crisis batter in case they lose their top-order early on. He lived up to the expectations against England as well scoring a run-a-ball 32 and ended up as the top-scorer for his team. 

Najibullah Zadran has been one of Afghanistan's useful batters. However, he has not been able to perform well down under so far having scored just 13 in the last game. He would be hoping to make amends against New Zealand in the next game.

Usman Ghani was the second-highest run-scorer for the Afghans in the last game. He was involved in a small partnership with Ibrahim Zadran and scored a run-a-ball 30 which helped Afghanistan in surpassing the 100-run mark.

All-Rounders: Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan

The seasoned duo of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan is aware of the Australian conditions having played in the Big Bash League (BBL). Nabi might have failed with the bat against England, but almost had them on the mat when he bowled Ben Stokes right through the gates. 

Rashid Khan has the potential to play match-defining knocks with the bat in the middle and death overs and has bamboozled the best in the business with his leg spin. The leggie had dismissed Harry Brook to give the Afghans an outside chance in the previous fixture.

Bowlers: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqui

Mujeeb Ur Rahman has the ability to single-handedly win the match for his side with his mystery spin. The youngster picked up the key wicket of Dawid Malan in the last encounter. Fareed Ahmad was very expensive against the Three Lions conceding 23 runs in two overs at an economy rate of 11.5. He would be hoping to fare well this time around.

Azmatullah Omarzai conceded 11 runs from his 1.1 overs at an economy of 9.4. The emerging bowler would be hoping for better performances going forward. 

Fazalhaq Farooqui is slowly proving to be one of Afghanistan's best bowlers in white-ball cricket and would be eyeing a consistent performance against the Black Caps. He accounted for skipper Jos Buttler in the last game and conceded 24 runs in his four overs at an economy of six.

Afghanistan’s predicted XI against England: 

Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Nabi (c),  Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi

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