In a crucial ICC World Cup match, Afghanistan and the Netherlands will square off today at the BRSABVE Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
After early victories over the top four opponents and convincing victories in their most recent outing, both sides are still in the running to go to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 knockout rounds.
Afghanistan would tie Australia and New Zealand for fourth place with eight points if they win four times today, putting them squarely in the running for a ticket in the knockout rounds.
The Netherlands”route to the semi-finals is more difficult because they have only won twice so far, but two points from this crucial match might significantly improve their prospects.
There have only been nine ODIs between the two teams; the Netherlands won the first one in 2009 and the only other one in 2012.
When Afghanistan batted first and kept the Netherlands at a distance during the chase, they won all three of their meetings in Doha at the beginning of last year. However, this time, the stakes are considerably higher for the two rising teams, who are both playing well.
Teams Netherlands: Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, and Scott Edwards (c).
Afghanistan: Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi
