World Cup 2019: Match 13, Afghanistan vs New Zealand, Preview, Weather Report, Pitch Report, Match Details, Head-to-Head Stats & Playing XI

The unbeaten New Zealand side will look to continue their run when they take on Afghanistan in the thirteenth fixture of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. The Kiwis are coming into this game after claiming back to back wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh while Afghanistan will look to get back on track after their defeats against Australia and Sri Lanka.

Match Details

Date: 8th June 2019 (Saturday)

Time: 12:30 AM (New Zealand), 06:00 PM (Sri Lanka), 01:30 PM (England) and 06:00 PM (IST)

Venue: Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton

Weather Report

The players are expected to witness a chilly day, with 15-degree celsius, 76 percent cloud cover and some patches of rain during the first innings of the match.

Pitch Report

Taunton is known for being a heaven for the batters but the overnight rain might help the seamers during the initial overs of the play.

Head-to-Head Stats

Overall: This will be New Zealand's second ODI meeting with Afghanistan in the World Cup. The previous one was during the 2015 World Cup, which the Kiwis secured comfortably by six wickets.

At Taunton: Interestingly, the ground has never hosted an ODI involving either New Zealand or Afghanistan, and all three fixtures played at this venue have been hosted during Cricket World Cup 1983 (England vs Sri Lanka) and 1999 (India vs Sri Lanka & Kenya vs Zimbabwe).

New Zealand

New Zealand Cricket Team

The Kiwis have made a roaring start to their World Cup campaign and will eye an easy win against Afghanistan.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor & Kane Williamson

Ross Taylor led the Kiwis with his gritty 82 against Bangladesh while the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson played a steady knock of 40 runs. The openers Martin Guptill (25) and Colin Munro (24) failed to convert their starts against the Tigers and are likely to rectify that on Saturday.

Bowling

Key Bowlers - Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson & Trent Boult

Matt Henry currently leads the World Cup bowling charts with seven wickets. Lockie Ferguson (4 wickets) and Trent Boult (3 Wickets) are the other key scalpers.

Expected Playing XI

Kane Williamson (C), Tom Latham (W), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, and Lockie Ferguson.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan Cricket Team

The Afghans, who looked promising on paper, are struggling at moment and are in desperate need of a win against the buoyant Kiwi side.

Batting

Key Batsmen - Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi & Najibullah Zadran

Najibullah Zadran has been the standout performer for the Blue Tigers with scores of 50 and 41 against Australia and Sri Lanka respectively. Their main concern has been the failure of the top order in both games. Hazratullah Zazai (30) showed some signs of revival in last game, the skipper, Gulabdin Naid will need a strong show from all of the Afghani top order batsmen, else it will be a cakewalk for the Kiwis.

Bowling

Key Bowler - Mohammad Nabi & Rashid Khan

Mohammad Nabi was the pick against Sri Lanka with four wickets with Rashid Khan and Dawlat Zadran snared two scalps each. It is expected that these three, alongside skipper Naib, are expected to trouble the Kiwis in the next game.

Expected Playing XI

Gulbadin Naib (C), Ikram Ali Khil (W), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran and Hamid Hassan.