World Cup 2019: Afghanistan vs Australia Match Preview
Australia and Afghanistan are set to battle it out in the fourth fixture of the ICC World Cup 2019 at the County Ground, Bristol. Australia must be beaming with confidence after beating England in their last warm-up game while Afghanistan can be a dark horse in this edition of the World Cup. Both the teams will be looking for clinical performance and open their World Cup account with a victory.
Australia has been a decent side after finding their feet in the limited-over cricket under Aaron Finch. With two back-to-back away series triumph against India and Pakistan, the Kangaroos arrived in England with a lot of confidence and anticipation. The Australian squad looks more dangerous with the comeback of David Warner and Steve Smith. However, their bowling lineup might be the weak link as they lack variety in their attack. The reigning champions would be eyeing to dominate the tie when they take on Afghanistan in their opening match.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, has been the most revamped outfit currently in the cricketing world. Their victory against Pakistan proved yet again that Afghanistan can outplay any team on their day. In their second World Cup appearance, the Asian outfit will look to open their account against the defending champions. With match winners like Mohammad Shahzad, Rashid Khan, and Mohammad Nabi in their ranks, Afghanistan would be hoping to upset the Kangaroos tomorrow in their World Cup opener.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, 1st June 2019
Time: 06:00 PM IST
Venue: County Ground, Bristol
League: ICC World Cup 2019
Live Telecast: Star Network
Online Streaming: Hotstar
Venue Stats
Avg 1st Innings score: 244
Avg 2nd Innings score: 216
Highest Total: 373/5 (50 Ov) by ENGW vs RSAW
Lowest Total: 92/10 (24.5 Ov) by ZIM vs Eng
Highest Chased: 359/4 (44.5 Ov) by Eng vs PAK
Lowest Defended: 182/10 (50 Ov) by NZ vs Eng
Squads
Afghanistan
Gulbadin Naib (C), Hamid Hassan, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Shahzad, Aftab Alam, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Australia
Aaron Finch (capt), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Probable Playing XI
Afghanistan
Mohammad Shahzad, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Ashgar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Aftab Alam and Dawlat Zadran
Australia
David Warner, Aaron Finch, Usman Khwaja, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon