Its England vs Afghanistan in the World Cup. Their clash in the last World Cup was unforgettable as the English Skipper smashed 17 sixes in his innings of 148 that helped England hand Afghanistan their 2nd Biggest Loss by 150 Runs. Morgan might have retired, but England still have the firepower to trouble Afghanistan.
England: Following a massive loss in the opening match of the tournament against New Zealand, they were placed bottom of the points table after all the teams have played one match each. But they bounced back in style against Bangladesh, as they won by a huge 137 Runs and managed to bring their NRR in positive once again and proved why they are the defending champions. Though Ben Stokes availability still is doubtful, they don’t have anything to worry about, given the way they performed in their last match.
Afghanistan: Having lost both their opening matches and both by 90+ Balls remaining, Afghanistan has not lived up to the expectations they created during the World Cup Super League. Their losing streaks dates back to the 2015 World Cup, which means they have lost 14 matches on the bounce. The good news for them though, is that they are not the only side to lose both their opening games; Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Australia too are in the same situation. Defeating England might be a tough task, but if they do, they will climb 3 positions up to the 7th spot. One advantage for them is that they will be playing on the same ground where they played their last match against India and have a better knowledge about the conditions than England.
Probable XI:
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (C)(WK), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Interesting Facts and Stats:
(*) The Last time these 2 sides met at the World Cup, Eoin Morgan was unstoppable which led to many records. Most Sixes by a batsman in an ODI (Morgan) and Worst Bowling Figure in ODIs for Rashid Khan till date (0/110) being 2 main most memorable records.
(*) England (49) needs 1 more win to complete 50 World Cup Wins. So far, Australia, New Zealand and India have reached the milestone.
(*) Joe Root Needs 83 Runs to complete 1000 World Cup Runs.
(*) Mohammed Nabi needs just 1 wicket to complete 250 International wickets and become just the second player from Afghanistan to achieve the feat after Rashid Khan
(*) 150th ODI for Mohammed Nabi
(*) Ibrahim Zadran needs 45 Runs to complete 1000 ODI Runs
(*) Sam Curran had the same bowling figure in both the matches England played this Edition so far – 1/47.
Match Details:
Date: 15 October 2023
Time: 02:00 PM Local Time (8:30 AM GMT)
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Pitch and Weather Report:
The Surface at Arun Jaitley Stadium is expected to be batting paradise. While bowlers are going to have a tough day, Pacers might get a little support. The par score here should be anything in the vicinity of 325-350.
Bowling first would be the preferred choice for the toss winning team as any score is not safe here.
Dream XI:
