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Afghanistan and Netherlands are still in the race to reach the knockout stages of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 following early triumphs over top-four contenders and clinical wins in their last start.
A fourth victory here for Afghanistan would have them draw level on eight points with both Australia and New Zealand in third and fourth-place, and firmly in the mix for a spot in the knockout stages.
With only two wins so far, Netherlands have a trickier path to the semi-finals but could give their chances a huge boost with two points from this crunch clash.
The sides have only met in nine previous ODIs with Netherlands winning the first of those in 2009 but only coming out on top once more in 2012.
Afghanistan won all three of their encounters in Doha at the start of last year when batting first and holding Netherlands at arm’s length in the chase, but the stakes are much higher this time for the two emerging sides both in good form.
When: November 03, 2023, 2:00 PM IST
Where: Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Teams
Netherlands:
In light of the pacers' recent achievements in Lucknow matches, the Netherlands may contemplate replacing Shariz Ahmad with Ryan Klein.
In terms of tactical considerations, it's worth noting that Scott Edwards boasts an impressive average of 65.92 against spin in ODIs, having scored 791 runs from 794 balls faced. Edwards will play a pivotal role for the Netherlands when confronting the spin talents of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan.
Afghanistan:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz had to assume wicket-keeping responsibilities early in the previous game due to Ikram Alikhil's injury to his right-hand little finger while attempting to collect the ball. Head coach Jonathan Trott has confirmed that Ikram is ready to return to play.
In terms of tactics and strategy, it's noteworthy that left-arm fast bowlers have proven to be a challenge for Netherlands' batters in recent years. Max O'Dowd and Vikramjit Singh have been dismissed by left-arm pacers six times each since 2021, while Bas de Leede and Teja Nidamanuru have fallen victim to them five times. Wesley Barresi has also been dismissed by left-arm pacers on three occasions, and all these players have an average of under 30 against left-arm quicks. Therefore, the in-form Fazalhaq Farooqi, who was named the player of the match in the last game, will be a crucial bowler when facing the Netherlands' top order.
Squads:
Netherlands Squad: Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Wesley Barresi, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards(w/c), Bas de Leede, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmad, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren, Saqib Zulfiqar, Teja Nidamanuru, Ryan Klein, Roelof van der Merwe
Afghanistan Squad: 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, Noor Ahmad, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Rahman, Najibullah Zadran
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