CHENNAI, India (AP) — Afghanistan won the toss of the dice and chose to face New Zealand on Sunday in what will be the toughest grouping at the T20 World Cup.
Both teams are drawn in Group D, which also includes last tournament finalists South Africa and two associate nations – Canada and the United Arab Emirates. Only two teams can advance from this “Group of Death” to the Super 8 stage of the tournament.
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This is the first international match between the two teams since Afghanistan’s 84-run victory over the Black Caps in Guyana in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
New Zealand have been in India for the last month but have had to deal with a host of injuries to their players.
Afghanistan are in full swing and enter the match with ace spinner and captain Rashid Khan as favorite, needing just four wickets to become the first bowler to take 700 wickets in T20 matches.
“We have a good bowling line-up and I hope it will help the spin later on,” Rashid said while bowling. “We play a lot of ICC events and it’s just about playing smart cricket and using the experience.”
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New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner hopes the grass on the wicket will help three seamers – Matt Henry, Locke Ferguson and Jacob Duffy – in the day game.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, kicked off on Saturday with wins from Pakistan, India and West Indies.
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line-up:
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Seedikullah Attar, Darwish Rasouli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (captain), Fazalul Haq Farooqi, Ziaur Rahman, Mujibur Ur Rahman
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (captain), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Locke Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
