World Cup 2023: New Zealand off to strong start against Afghanistan

In the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and invited New Zealand to bat first in the 16th match at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.

New Zealand 80/1 in 15 overs

Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman gave a good start to his team dismissing Devon Conway early in the innings, who scored 20 runs off 18 balls.

𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐅𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍 🤩@Mujeeb_R88 traps Devon Conway in front for 20 to give Afghanistan an early success with the ball. 👏

🇳🇿- 30/1 (7 Overs)

📸: ICC/Getty#AfghanAtalan | #CWC23 | #AFGvNZ | #WarzaMaidanGata pic.twitter.com/nd6gFkjnhO

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 18, 2023

New Zealand started the innings cautiously adding 41 runs and losing the wicket of experienced Devon Conway in the first powerplay. Will Young and Rachin Ravindra have stitched 50-run partnership for the second wicket. Will Young is playing on 44 off 48 balls and Rachin Ravindra is on 15 of 24 balls.

Lucky day for Will Young

Afghanistan dropped two catches of Will Young already, once on the score of 1 and then on 22. New Zealand have scored 80 runs after losing a wicket in 15 overs.

Afghanistan is entering into the game riding high on confidence after a thumping win over England, while New Zealand will be eyeing to continue its winnings run in its World Cup campaign.

Although the Kiwis lost Kane Williamson after his finger fracture during their match against Bangladesh, Blackcaps are still unbeaten in the competition.

After the toss New Zealand skipper Tom Latham said, “Either way, wasn’t sure what to do. Looks like a good surface. Will Young come in for Williamson, my fingers are crossed for the remainder of the tournament. Adapting to every ground, every team, and every surface is important. Not a hundred percent sure, it might be slightly better than the last game”.

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 and Fazalhaq Farooqi.

🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨

AfghanAtalan are going with an unchanged lineup from the previous game. 👍

Go well Atalano! 🤩#AfghanAtalan | #CWC23 | #AFGvNZ | #WarzaMaidanGata pic.twitter.com/6gU5UEgOIs

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 18, 2023

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 and Trent Boult.

A toss win for Afghanistan and Hashmatullah Shahidi opts to bowl first in Chennai. Will Young returns to the XI for Kane Williamson. Follow play LIVE in NZ with @skysportnz. LIVE scoring | #CWC23 #BACKTHEBLACKCAPS pic.twitter.com/oLQkxEVgbr

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 18, 2023