ICC T20I WC 2024: Match 29: Afg vs PNG - Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago

ICC T20I WC 2024: Match 29: Afghanistan vs Papua New Guinea - Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago on 14/6/24 at 6:00am IST



The 29th game of T20 World Cup 2024 will feature  Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Friday, June 14. Afghanistan will be coming into the game on the back of a win against New Zealand. The wins see them sit in second place in the standings just behind the West Indies. On the other hand, Papua New Guinea will be coming off a win against Uganda. With wins in their previous games, both sides will aim to continue their form and register another victory. 

Afghanistan eye Super Eight spot against nearly-men PNG. New Zealand will be cheering for PNG as their Super Eight hopes hinge on PNG beating Afghanistan

AFG vs PNG Pitch Report 

The surface at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad is one that is preferred by the batters. A high scoring encounter could be a possibility on such a surface, and opting to bat first after winning the toss could be a wise decision. 

Possible Playing 11 for AFG vs PNG

Afghanistan: 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Gulbadin Naib, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (C), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Papua New Guinea:

Lega Siaka, Assad Vala (C), Tony Ura, Sese Bau, Kiplin Doriga, Charles Amini, Kabue Moria, Alei Neo, Sema Kamau, Chad Soper, John Kariko

Probable Top Performers from AFG vs PNG

Probable Best Batter of the Match: Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz could be the best batter in the upcoming game against Papua New Guinea. Gurbaz has been in impeccable form of late, scoring 80 runs in his previous game against New Zealand.

Probable Best Bowler of the Match: Rashid Khan

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan could be the best bowler in the upcoming game against Papua New Guinea. Rashid needs no introduction and is one of the best bowlers in the format. With 14 wickets in his last five matches, Rashid’s spell could be crucial for Afghanistan.

Big picture

Afghanistan have had a dream start to their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. Having brushed past Uganda in the opening fixture, they dealt a killer blow to New Zealand and are comfortably placed to make the Super Eight.

In the previous edition in 2022, Afghanistan were part of Super 12 but couldn't register a single win, losing three games and the other two being washed out.

Much of their success so far this year has been down to their openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. They added 154 against Uganda and 103 against New Zealand, with Gurbaz hitting fifties in both games. The flip side is that the middle order has not had enough time in the middle. It could hurt them as it almost did when they lost 6 for 55 after their opening stand against New Zealand.

It could well be their achilles heel against nearly-men PNG. They are yet to win a match but defending 136 in their opening game, they had West Indies in a spot of bother. In their next outing, they made Uganda work hard for a target of 78.

The sluggish conditions in Tarouba could level the playing field, even though Afghanistan have the skills suited for those. PNG's plethora of medium-pacers and spinners would want to leave a mark at the Brian Lara Stadium. And the team will have a whole bunch of New Zealand fans cheering for them, as their hopes of making the Super Eight hinge on, among other things, PNG beating Afghanistan.

Form guide

Afghanistan WWWWL (last five T20Is, most recent first)

PNG LLLWW

In the spotlight 

Over the last two years, Ibrahim Zadran's consistent performances saw him cement his place at the top of the batting order across formats. He has turned out to be the perfect foil for Gurbaz, improving his range of shots as well as his T20I strike rate (117.91 in 2024, up from 102.91 in 2023). That has meant the scoreboard did not come to a halt when Gurbaz wasn't on strike. He finished the Qosh Tepa National T20 Cup, Afghanistan's domestic competition, as the leading run-scorer, and has carried his form into the World Cup.

Seamer Norman Vanua is PNG's leading wicket-taker in T20Is. The team felt his absence in the opening game of the tournament. But he made a successful return against Uganda, his 2 for 19 keeping the side in the contest. With PNG harbouring hopes of their maiden win in the competition, all eyes will be yet again on Vanua.

Stats and trivia

• Sese Bau needs 54 runs to become the fourth from PNG to a 1000 mark in T20Is.
• No opening pair has added more runs than Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in T20Is in 2024.
• Among those who have bowled at least 50 overs in T20Is since January 2023, Rashid Khan and John Kariko are the second- and the fifth-mosteconomical bowlers.

Pitch and conditions

The surface in Tarouba played true to its sluggish nature during the game between West Indies and New Zealand. Because of rain in the lead-up to the match, some deliveries from the good-length area outside off stump kept alarmingly low, and it was not easy to hit through the line. There isn't any rain on the forecast - though that might change - but captain winning the toss is likely to bowl first because of the dew around.

Did you know? 

Six of Rahmanullah Gurbaz's seven fifty-plus scores since 2022 have come batting first. There is also a considerable dip in strike rates, 149 batting first against 125 batting second. 

Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea have only faced each other once, back in 2015, in a game that was won by the former

Who said what

"As the tournament goes on, we need to take chances, we need to be at our best. We need to adapt quickly as possible in different grounds we play on." - Assad Vala hopes for his batters to put on a stronger show 

"You have to encourage the bowlers, as a wicketkeeper, my job is to keep everyone active on the ground. I try to give some energy to the bowlers as well." - Rahmanullah Gurbaz speaks about the vibe he wants to create as a wicketkeeper