ICC T20I WC 2024: Match 29: Afg vs PNG - Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago - Page 2

Afghanistan's rise to world cricket started on the back of an age-old formula. Bat first, bat big and then use the scoreboard pressure to squeeze out the opposition. Over the years, cricket evolved and T20 specifically has had a chasing bias to it in recent years. But the cliched route worked for Afghanistan thanks to the arsenal of spinners they have at their disposal. However, in the two games this tournament, it's been the new-ball bursts from Fazalhaq Farooqui that have dismantled Afghanistan's opponents, setting it up for the spinners to complete the wreckage. 

Such has been Afghanistan's dominance that in both their wins, their top-scorer Rahmanullah Gurbaz (76 and 80) has single-handedly outscored their opponents collective totals. The enormity of these victory margins means that Afghanistan are all but through to the Super 8s, given their impregnable net run rate. However, a win here would put the rubber stamp on matters and as such, Afghanistan look primed to achieve the same. On the other hand, PNG has endured contrasting fortunes so far. 

They punched way above their weight in the opening fixture against West Indies, dragging the tournament hosts close before falling short. It was an impressive show from the underdogs but they followed that up by botching up against Uganda in a low-scoring encounter where PNG were expected to be the stronger of the two sides. Batting fragility is the major concern for them and against Afghanistan's potent bowling attack, things are only bound to get tougher. 

Team watch:

Afghanistan

With everything gelling well, Afghanistan's only real concern is regarding the fitness of Mujeeb-ur-Rahman. Skipper Rashid Khan mentioned at the toss in the previous game that his spin partner's hand injury has been a recurring theme, keeping him in and out of the side. If fit, Mujeeb should slot in for Noor Ahmad. 

Tactics and matchups: Since 2021, night games in Tarouba has had an increasing bias to fast bowlers who have picked up 21 of the 34 wickets to fall. Afghanistan won't mind it, given the form of Farooqui and Naveen-ul-Haq this year. In 2024, Naveen-ul-Haq (44) and Farooqui (36) have the most wickets in T20 cricket for Afghanistan with Rashid at third spot. 

Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad/Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqui 

Papua New Guinea

There are no injury concerns in the PNG camp but they might ponder about making a change or two, given the successive defeats. 

Tactics and matchups: While Farooqui has been a huge threat with the new ball in both of Afghanistan's games so far, PNG's batters have generally had a positive match up against left-arm pace. Tony Ura (145), Charles Amini (136) and Lega Siaka (136) have solid strike-rates while Assad Vala (106) has also been solid although his scoring rate has been on the slower side. 

Probable XI: Assad Vala(c), Tony Ura, Sese Bau, Lega Siaka, Hiri Hiri, Charles Amini, Kiplin Doriga(wk), Chad Soper, Norman Vanua, Alei Nao, John Kariko 

Thanks for the tag Soni.

May the best team win.

Cheers..

So, PNG will have a rattle at this. Afghanistan could reduce them to a mere footnote in this game. But the prospect of being the team that possibly denies Afghanistan entry to where they want to be, should be enticing enough. If PNG are indeed successful, they will have a piece of history all to themselves, which for those associated with PNG cricket, might be just reward for all the blood, sweat and tears poured in away from the T20 World Cup spotlight.

Papua New Guinea (PNG), on the other hand, have endured a tough second campaign at the men's T20 World Cup. There have been promising moments but have lacked consistency, only staying alive in the competition mathematically.

PNG, though, know how difficult it is to just get to the men's T20 World Cup: a sequence of regional qualifiers, battling a variety of conditions and then holding their nerve when it matters. And now that they have opportunity to represent their country, they would want to make the most of this experience.

Afghanistan are almost there. Almost where they want to be. They can feel it and perhaps even touch it. All they need now is two more points, and the earlier they can accomplish that, the quicker they can put their feet up (momentarily, of course) and plot the road ahead.

Here's an early snippet from Matt Roller, our man at the ground: Took the scenic route to Brian Lara Academy tonight to avoid the rush-hour traffic: an hour's water taxi from Port-of-Spain to San Fernando, then a short journey up from there. My cab driver insisted there would be a big crowd in for Afghanistan vs PNG - "Trinis love a party" - but it's relatively quiet at the moment. Tonight's game will be played on the same strip that was used in last night's between West Indies and New Zealand so expect a relatively low-scoring match if it plays similarly. There's a wind blowing across the ground which could also be a factor.

There was not a lot of pace and bounce on this surface yesterday. With 40 overs already being played on it, will the captain winning the toss be tempted to bat first and put up a score on the board? Toss in 5.

Odinlass: "Goooood morning! Very excited for this clash. Hope the weather forecast is in favour of play today." -- Looks like we should not have any problems on the weather front.

8pm It's toss time. Rashid Khan and Assad Vala are out there in the middle.

Afghanistan are on the cusp of history. They thrashed New Zealand and watched the West Indies do the same thing yesterday. That result has all but cleared the path for them to go past the league phase of an ICC tournament for the first time in their history. They have two shots at doing so, but everyone will agree that tonight's is their best bet. Their opponents today are Papua New Guinea, a team that's shown plenty of spunk and attitude, but haven't been able to convert it into a win. The game against Uganda was perhaps their best chance and they would be hurt at not turning up for that match. But take them lightly at your own peril and Afghanistan would be the last team to take their foot off the gas. Toss and team news coming up shortly..