Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the all-important toss and elected to field against New Zealand in the ODI World Cup fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 18 (Wednesday). Afghanistan went in with the same playing XI that featured in their last game against England. For New Zealand, Will Young replaced the injured Kane Williamson in the playing XI.
Afghanistan playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil(w), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
New Zealand playing XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Along with India, New Zealand are the only other country that is undefeated in the ongoing edition of the ODI World Cup so far. The Blackcaps defeated England in their campaign opener and followed it up with two important wins against the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
Afghanistan shocked England in their previous match and registered only their second victory in ODI World Cup history. Afghanistan so far has one win and two defeats in the three matches played in the competition so far.
Squads
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Tom Latham(w/c), Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Will Young, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, James Neesham, Tim Southee
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil(w), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Najibullah Zadran, Abdul Rahman, Riaz Hassan, Noor Ahmad
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