Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
New Zealand take on Afghanistan in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 2pm local time (10am BST) on Sunday, November 7, 2021.
The game will be held at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Zayed Stadium: Ground guide
New Zealand lost to Pakistan in the tournament opener but have won their past three matches, defeating India by eight wickets, Scotland by 16 runs and Namibia by 52 runs. The Black Caps are currently second in Group B with six points.
Afghanistan have won two and lost two in the World Cup to date, defeating Scotland by 130 runs and Namibia by 62 runs either side of a five-wicket defeat against Pakistan. In their most recent outing, they lost to India by 66 runs. Afghanistan are fourth in the table with four points.
Who needs what? If New Zealand win, they take the second qualifying spot behind Pakistan and eliminate both Afghanistan and India. If New Zealand lose, Afghanistan will climb into second place owing to their superior net run rate and will then face an agonising 24 hour wait to see what India do against Namibia.
Dafabet have installed New Zealand as the favourites for this match, offering odds of 2/5. Afghanistan are available at 15/8.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi has been his side's shining light with the bat. The 36-year-old, who is ranked ninth on the T20 Player Index, has passed 30 in each of his past three innings and scored 113 runs at a strike rate of 132.94 from the middle order - the only Afghanistan player to reach three figures. Karim Janat also played a good knock against India, scoring 42 not out off 22 balls. New Zealand will want to avoid letting these two bat together.
For New Zealand, bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult hold the key to their success. Southee has taken five wickets in 16 overs and bowled with a team-leading economy of 5.62. Boult, meanwhile, has eight wickets and an economy of 6.25.
New Zealand are unlikely to mess with a winning formula. Afghanistan's bowling line-up will be dictated by Mujeeb Ur Rahman's injury status. The 20-year-old spinner hasn't featured since the Pakistan defeat but has six wickets in the tournament to date.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Rusere, TBC
TV umpire: Illingworth
Fourth umpire: Dar
Referee: Srinath
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
Temperatures will hover around 30 degrees Celsius.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
A tough one to call. Both teams have good spinners and big-hitting middle orders, but only New Zealand have winning momentum. New Zealand, just.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson (injured, replaced by Adam Milne on October 26), Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan (retired, replaced by Sharafuddin Ashraf on November 2), Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveen ul Haq
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Willliamson, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
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