New Zealand vs Afghanistan in the 14th game of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Get our latest expert NZ vs AFG match betting tips, predictions and picks below.
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NZ vs AFG Match Information
- Venue: Providence Stadium, Guyana
- Date: Friday, June 7
- Time: 7.30 pm local (1.30 am GMT, 6 am IST next day)
- How to Buy NZ vs AFG Tickets? Get all the information here.
What Have The Two Teams Done So Far?
Afghanistan kick-started their campaign in this tournament with a stellar performance, albeit it came against the T20 World Cup debutants Uganda.
They notched up the two points with a 125-run victory over Uganda to push their net run-rate up in a group that has both New Zealand and West Indies.
New Zealand, whose best performance in a T20 World Cup came in 2021 when they made the final, were the semifinalists in the last edition.
They will hope to shrug off their rustiness, having last played a T20I in April and that too without too many of their frontline players who were all involved in the IPL. Incidentally they didn’t feature in any of the warm-up matches either.
Quick NZ vs AFG Preview
While Afghanistan have earned themselves the odd surprise win here and there in both, the 50-over World Cup and the T20 World Cup, their best performance in an ICC event came in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
They finished sixth and were probably a wicket away from upsetting Australia in that event. Who knows they might have even made the semifinal there.
Why this is important to note is because it does look like Afghanistan is slowly, but steadily coming together as a team that’s lot more than just an exciting team to watch. With Jonathon Trott now safely installed as their coach, things are coming together nicely for them and their convincing win over Uganda spoke volumes about that.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran hammered quickfire 70s and a team traditionally known for their trial by spin, turned to the seam bowling of Fazalhaq Farooqi for the demolition of Uganda for 58. Farooqi picked up a five-fer.
New Zealand’s rustiness notwithstanding they have always managed to punch above their weights.
Even when they haven’t quite gotten going, New Zealand have put up a brilliant showing and reached the knockout stages of ICC events across formats.
Kane Williamson looks to have put all his injury fears behind him to reclaim the captaincy spot and he has enough experience in both, the batting and bowling departments to challenge the best in the business.
The question is if they can adapt quickly to the kind of pitches here, with the surfaces assisting bowlers. Three of the four innings played here have ended with teams scoring 58, 77 all out and 78/7 and that will be a concern.
Especially against a team that has a plethora of spinners to exploit these conditions.
NZ vs AFG Head-to-Head Stats
- Overall New Zealand vs Afghanistan Head-to-head: Their only previous encounter came at the 2021 T20 World Cup where New Zealand won by eight wickets and 11 balls to spare.
- Trent Boult was the wrecker-in-chief in that game with Kane Williamson guiding the team to win with an unbeaten 40.
- They were to play again in the 2022 T20 World Cup but the match got rained off.
Possible Playing XIs
New Zealand
Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson.
Afghanistan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad.
Get all the T20 World Cup squads here.
NZ vs AFG Predictions with Latest Odds*
NZ vs AFG Match Winner
New Zealand to win: 1/2 (sign up with 1xbet)
NZ vs AFG Top Batsman
- Top New Zealand Batsman – Kane Williamson: 4/1 (sign up with 1xbet)
- Top Afghanistan Batsman – Rahmanullah Gurbaz: 10/3 (sign up with 1xbet)
NZ vs AFG Top Bowler
- Top New Zealand Bowler – Trent Boult: 10/3 (sign up with 1xbet)
- Top Afghanistan Bowler – Mujeeb ur Rahman: 3/1 (sign up with 1xbet)
NZ vs AFG Toss Prediction
New Zealand to win the toss: 10/11
NZ vs AFG Score Prediction
Highest Individual Score – Under 62.5: 5/6
*odds correct at the time of writing.
Photo Credit: MAM Ashfaq
