Published: Mar 23, 2016, 11:32 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 23, 2016, 11:32 AM (IST)
England and Afghanistan lock horns in Match 24, Super 10 stage of ICC World T20 2016 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on Wednesday. Both the sides have played two matches each; while England have registered one victory so far, Afghanistan are yet to open their account. Despite chasing down South Africa’s target of 230 in 19.4 overs, England are placed second-last in Group 1. And, that is because of their run-rate which is in negative, courtesy of their thrashing at the hands of West Indies in their opening match of their World T20 campaign. Meanwhile, Afghanistan played competitive cricket against the likes of South Africa and Sri Lanka, but eventually could not emerge victorious. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Afghanistan, Match 24, ICC World T20 2016 at Delhi
England not only have to beat Afghanistan on Wednesday, they have to win the contest by a huge margin in order to better their run-rate to stay alive in the competition. However, if they lose, they are likely to be stormed out of the tournament. Afghanistan’s chances in this World T20 are more or less finished, so a win will brighten their chances of qualifying for the semis. England have the capability of posting huge totals with the likes of Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Ben Stokes in their top-order. The game against South Africa witnessed one of the best Twenty20 International (T20I) innings from Roy, who went after every ball right from the word go. The duo of Hales and Roy posted a stand of 48 runs off just 2.3 overs and ensured the required run-rate did not shoot up. This time they will face a less-experienced attack in Dawlat Zadran, Amir Hamza, Shapoor Zadran and Mohammad Nabi.
If England’s top-order fails to score runs, their middle-order boosts with skipper Eoin Morgan, Joe Root and Jos Butler—the trio who have always come in handy whenever England were in trouble. Root single-handedly crushed the South African attack to hand them a defeat despite the target being a mammoth one, 230. READ: England vs Afghanistan, T20 World Cup 2016, Match 24 at Delhi: England’s Likely XI
England surely have an upper hand against Afghanistan, provided they do not underestimate the opposition.
Afghanistan’s bowling attack had almost won them the match against Sri Lanka, the defending champions, but eventually Tilakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 56-ball 83 became Sri Lanka’s saviour. Even during their match against South Africa, the likes of Hamza, Shapoor and Nabi did strike but were too late, as AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy had done the damage by then. However, the match was not over for them until their opener Mohammad Shahzad was at the crease.
If Shahzad ripped apart the bowling attack that included the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Imran Tahir and Chris Morris, it would not be a surprise to see Shahzad going great guns against the likes of Reece Topley, Chris Jordon and David Willey. Nonetheless, he will have to worry about Mooen Ali, Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid. Shahzad later suggested that Afghanistan had more chances had Dale Steyn been in the opposition’s playing XI, as he does not consider Steyn dangerous anymore. Shahzad is brimming with confidence, and England will surely have a plan in place for him.
While England will fight to stay alive in this World T20, Afghanistan will play for pride. Nevertheless, the Delhi crowd is ensured of a full-fledged T20I match with fireworks guaranteed.
Squads:
England: Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Jos Buttler(wk), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Liam Plunkett, Liam Dawson, Reece Topley, Chris Jordan, James Vince, Sam Billings
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad(wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Asghar Stanikzai(c), Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran
Time: 15:00 local | 09:30 GMT
(Sakshi Gupta, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a sports fanatic whose mantra in life is “do only what you enjoy.” Her Twitter handle is @sakshi2929)
