ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup quarter finals: Preview

#3 New Zealand vs Afghanistan (25th January)

Jakob Bhula is in terrific form

U19 Afghanistan team will look to better their 2014 performance when they square off against the hosts New Zealand in their quarter-final match on Thursday.

If you look at the highest run-getters list of this U19 World Cup, three New Zealand players feature in the top 4. Jakob Bhula who smashed 180 against Kenya leads the chart with 307 runs. He is followed by his teammate, Finn Allen.

Bhula’s opening partner Rachin Ravindra is not too far behind in fourth place. It helps the team when someone from the top order can contribute with the ball as well. Ravindra has done that job perfectly. He has taken 9 wickets and is fourth on the leading wicket-takers list.

Afghanistan started the tournament with a win over their neighbours, Pakistan. Afghanistan then showed that it was not just a one-off victory or upset when they beat Sri Lanka in their second game.

In their last group match, they lost against Ireland by a meagre margin of 4 runs. Darwish Rasooli has been their leading run scorer. Bowlers have done well for Afghanistan. But batsmen haven’t been able to convert the starts into something big.

What to Expect:

New Zealand looks to be the firm favourites to win this match. However, one should expect Afghanistan to give them a tough fight.