T20 World Cup, New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Super 12, Group 1 Highlights: New Zealand, Afghanistan Share Points As Rain Plays Spoilsport At MCG

The Super 12 stage of the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup is in full swing and in a Group 1 clash, it will be New Zealand taking on Afghanistan at the M.C.G. in Melbourne. This is the second clash of the day as neighbors Ireland will take on England in the first match of the day and that too will be played at the same stadium. Coming to the clash at hand, the Kiwis made a roaring start to their campaign as they crushed Trans-Tasman rivals and reigning champions Australia in their own backyard. They were attacking from the start with openers Finn Allen and Devon Conway simply wreaking havoc. This effort was well-backed by the middle-order with Conway remaining unbeaten on 92. Their bowling too was in a class of its own in the last game with Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner breaking the back of the opposition early on. The Kiwis do have an added incentive coming into the World Cup as they have finished as runners-up in the most recent T20I and ODI World Cups and they will be looking to finally get their hands on some silverware. Afghanistan have been staying in touching distance of all these big teams for a few years now, at least in the T20 format but they still lack a couple of real match-winners with the bat. They did put up a real fight in their opening game against England and their bowlers almost got them over the line. Their next opponents, New Zealand though are in brilliant form and this might prove to be an even more difficult challenge as the Kiwis have a few players that play spin really well. With the dimensions of the ground though, the likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will always be in the game and Afghanistan need to ensure that they hold on to their catches unlike the last match if they are to have a shot at winning this game. Afghanistan have two openers who can be a handful on any given day and it will be a real battle for them against the experienced pair of Tim Southee and Trent Boult. With chances of rain early in the day, all cricketing fans will have their fingers crossed that the weather conditions improve and we can have a proper game of cricket. Afghanistan have it all to do against an in-form Kiwi side. Will they be up for the challenge? Or will New Zealand blow them away?