Afghanistan and Australia will battle it out in the match four at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019 in Bristol on Saturday. Both team will be taking part in their first game and therefore will be hoping to start their campaign on a high. Both teams have only faced each other two times before, where on both occasions, it was Australia who came out on top.
County Ground in Bristol will be used as the venue for the contest, which will be hosting its 18th ODI on Saturday. Highest team total of 369-9 at the ground in a 50-over contest was registered by England in the match against West Indies in 2017, whereas lowest team total of 92 was registered by Zimbabwe while playing against the home side in 2003. Highest individual scored of 151 at the venue in an ODI was registered by Pakistan's Imam Ul-Haq in 2019, whereas best bowling figures of 5-25 was registered by legendary New Zealand pacer Sir Richard Hadlee in 1983.
Australia will enter the contest as clear favourites as they are one of the most in-form team in the world of cricket in the 50-over format at least. In the batting department, the team will be relying on the likes of captain Aaron Finch, veteran opener David Warner, former skipper Steven Smith and explosive Glenn Maxwell to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Mitchell Starc,
Afghanistan and Australia will battle it out in the match four at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019 in Bristol on Saturday. Both team will be taking part in their first game and therefore will be hoping to start their campaign on a high. Both teams have only faced each other two times before, where on both occasions, it was Australia who came out on top.
County Ground in Bristol will be used as the venue for the contest, which will be hosting its 18th ODI on Saturday. Highest team total of 369-9 at the ground in a 50-over contest was registered by England in the match against West Indies in 2017, whereas lowest team total of 92 was registered by Zimbabwe while playing against the home side in 2003. Highest individual scored of 151 at the venue in an ODI was registered by Pakistan's Imam Ul-Haq in 2019, whereas best bowling figures of 5-25 was registered by legendary New Zealand pacer Sir Richard Hadlee in 1983.
Australia will enter the contest as clear favourites as they are one of the most in-form team in the world of cricket in the 50-over format at least. In the batting department, the team will be relying on the likes of captain Aaron Finch, veteran opener David Warner, former skipper Steven Smith and explosive Glenn Maxwell to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of pacers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and spin duo of Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon to provide timely breakthroughs.
On the other hand, Afghanistan will come in the contest as underdogs but will be high in confidence after beating Pakistan in the warm up match. In the batting department, the team will be relying on wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad, former captain Asghar Afghan, explosive opener Hazratullah Zazai and middle-order batsman Najibullah Zadran to score bulk of the runs, whereas on the bowling front, the onus will be on the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to provide timely breakthroughs.
Player Recommendations:
Batsman: David Warner (10 Cr)
Australia's David Warner is one of the few players who has a lot to prove in the ICC World Cup. The veteran left-hander just made a comeback in the national team after serving 12-month ban for his part in the infamous ball-tampering scandal, and he has looked as hungry as he has ever been before. Warner is in great form with the bat in hand as he was the highest run-getter for his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). The 32-year-old has represented Australia in 106 ODIs, where he has scored 4,343 runs at an average of 43.43 and strike-rate of 96.55, which included 14 centuries and 17 fifties.
Wicketkeeper: Mohammad Shahzad (9 Cr)
Mohammad Shahzad is one of the most permanent figure in the Afghanistan cricket team. The wicketkeeper-batsman has played 82 ODIs for his country, where he has scored 2,720 runs at an average of 34.43 and with a strike-rate of 88.68, which included six centuries and 14 fifties.
All-rounder: Glenn Maxwell (9 Cr)
Glenn Maxwell is a proven talent in white-ball cricket and have ability to trouble any opposition on any day. The right-hander has represented Australia in 100 ODIs, where he has scored 2,700 runs at an average of 33.33 and with a strike-rate of 121.95, which included one century and 19 fifties. That's not it as he also has 50 wickets to his name.
Bowler: Rashid Khan (9 Cr)
Rashid Khan is being termed as one of the best in white-ball cricket. The right-arm leggie has represented his national team in 59 ODIs, where he has 125 wickets to his name at an impressive strike-rate of 23.50.
Predicted Playing XI:
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wicketkeeper), Hazratullah Zazai, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shinwari, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib (captain), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan
Australia: Aaron Finch (captain), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins
