Two different agendas will be on show in the opening match of two in the Cricket T20 World Cup on Wednesday. That match sees England taking on Afghanistan and it promises to be a fascinating contest.
After defeat in their opening match England have given themselves no room for another failure so this is must win for them if they are to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Afghanistan achieved their primary aim in the tournament when they qualified for the main draw. Their ambitions have now switched to upsetting a full member side and they’ve already shown signs of being capable of doing that.
England will be delighted with their efforts with the bat in the tournament thus far but they will know if they are to go all the way in the competition they need to shape up with the ball. Their run chase in the last game will have given them plenty of confidence but you worry for them if they have to bat first at any point.
It looks like England have had enough of failure with the ball. All the indications are that Liam Dawson is going to come into the side. If that is true his Hampshire teammate Reece Topley is most likely to make way. Liam Plunkett could come into the mix too in which case Chris Jordan’s place could be under threat. Alex Hales is a doubt. James Vince will replace him if the Nottinghamshire man is ruled out.
Afghanistan have already given associate cricket a massive advertisement in this tournament and a win in either of their last two matches will really keep the strengthening talk of including them going forward moving. They have been competitive in both matches so far. They just need to manage the pressure moments better.
Afghanistan performed pretty well against South Africa in their last match so it is unlikely they will make too many changes to their side unless any last minute injuries occur.
The tournament heads to Delhi for the first time for this match. This will be the first T20 international held on this ground so conditions are slightly unknown although if we think back to the Indian Premier League the pitches tend to be on the slow side and are likely to offer plenty of turn.
It will be interesting to see how England cope to the change in conditions here. If they are to win the game batting first they will need to be careful that they set themselves the right target to reach and not go too hard and come up woefully short. With a leaky bowling attack that can be their undoing.
You would think Afghanistan are going to relish these conditions. They have three very canny spinners and a couple of seamers who should exploit and indifferent bounce that might be on offer while with the bat they ride the back of Mohammad Shahzad but others have shown up in this tournament and proven they can cause the big boys problems.
Whether Afghanistan win here or not I think they can remain competitive throughout. There isn’t going to be any demons in this England bowling attack for them to compete and they’ve an attack of their own capable of causing problems, especially if England get bogged down early and have to go after the spin.
After negotiating their way through a qualifying group in Nagpur, Afghanistan have competed in testing conditions in this tournament already, something England haven’t done so I’m happy to take Afghanistan to cover a large looking handicap.
I’m also dipping into the player performance markets for this match too where I nearly fell off my chair when I saw how long the line for Mohammad Nabi is.
Nabi has taken a wicket in every match he has played in this tournament and you would think if that trend continues here he is going to have this target covered. He is an accomplished batsman as he showed with that wonderful half century against Zimbabwe earlier in the tournament but he also has a four wicket haul to his name in this event as well.
Whether it is by five runs, another wicket or a catch should Nabi get a first wicket in this match it would be very surprising if he doesn’t cover this line. Given England’s weakness against spin I’m thinking that is all very likely.
WON – Back Afghanistan (+6.5 wickets/35.5 runs) to beat England for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Sportingbet
WON – Back M.Nabi’s Performance Pts – 25&Over for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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