New Zealand v Afghanistan World Cup Match Prediction & Betting Tips

Team New Zealand continued their dominance in Pool A of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, while beating another superb side and co-hosts, Australia by a narrow margin of one wicket in a nail biter. The Black Caps folded the innings of the Kangaroos for 151 runs in 32.2 overs and achieved the target at 9-152 after consuming 23.1 overs. The former has played four games, grasped all, gathered eight points at a supreme run rate of +3.589. Afghanistan tasted their maiden victory of the event while defeating Scotland in the 17^th match of the event by a difference of mere one wicket. They have accumulated two points from four games and will face a tough opponent, New Zealand, who is bulldozing almost every side.

Players to watch

The skipper of the Kiwis, Brendon McCullum, led his side from the front by smashing 50 off just 24 balls against Australia, Kane Williamson remained unbeaten for 45 and dispatched a winning six at a crucial stage of the match. Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott are struggling with their form while Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi are performing well with the willow. Trent Boult grabbed five wickets as Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, Adam Milne and Anderson are bowling as per plans.

Nawroz Mangal and Najibullah Zadran were the top scorers for Afghanistan vs. Australia in the last match and none other batsman touched the twenty runs mark. Samiullah Shenwari is their highest run getter whereas Javed Ahmadi, Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Stanikzai are improving gradually. Their bowling department revolves around Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi.

Time & Venue

Sunday, March 8, 2015 @ 22:00 GMT (Previous day), 11:00 local at McLean Park, Napier.

Weather

A beautiful day with plenty of sunshine during the day and a smooth evening with the temperatures around 15-26ᵒC.

Toss

The captains of both sides will prefer to bat first after winning the toss.

The Pitch

The wicket proved an ideal one for batting in the 25^th match of the tournament played between Pakistan and UAE.

Teams

New Zealand –  Brendon McCullum (C), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Luke Ronchi, Corey Anderson, Daniel Vettori, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.

Afghanistan – Mohammad Nabi (C), Javed Ahmadi, Afsar Zazai, Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zardan, Usman Ghani, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran.

Prediction

New Zealand should not find any problem to add two points to their credit.