Australia will be looking to book their ticket to the Semi Finals when they take on Afghanistan on Sunday morning. Afghanistan have played plenty of quality cricket this tournament so it will be no cakewalk for Australia, and we’ve got you covered with our preview below!
2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Preview & Betting Tips
Afghanistan vs Australia
St Vincent, Sunday 23rd June, 10:30am AEST
Afghanistan
Predicted XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
After starting the tournament with three dominant wins, Afghanistan have dropped back to back games by convincing margins and must beat Australia if they are to stay alive in the race for a Semi Final berth. Afghanistan could only muster 134 in response to India’s 8/181 on Friday morning, as their batting and bowling struggled once again.
After bowling out Uganda (58), New Zealand (75) and Papua New Guinea (95) in their first three games, Afghanistan have conceded scores of 5/218 against the West Indies and 8/181 against India, both scores which were well over par in the conditions. Their last two games have highlighted a clear weakness in their inability to chase big scores against quality opponents.
Afghanistan love to bat first and let their spinners go to work with runs on the board, and conditions on Sunday morning will allow for that if the toss goes their way. So far there have been three games played at Arnos Vale Stadium with scores of 5/159, 7/115 and 106 by teams batting first, who won all three games. Chasing teams were held to scores of 8/134, 7/114 and 85 respectively.
Nepal played two of three games at St Vincent and their spinners dominated against South Africa and Bangladesh, so Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad will be a handful to face on this surface.
Afghanistan quick Fazalhaq Farooqi is the leading wicket taker at the 2024 T20 World Cup, with 15 wickets at an average of 7.53 and an economy of 6.16. Farooqi has returned figures of 5/9, 4/17, 3/16, 0/38 and 3/33.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has led the way with the bat scoring 178 runs, the fourth most of any player at the tournament. Gurbaz has scored at a strike rate of 149.57 with an average of 35.60.
Australia
Predicted XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Australia made it five straight wins with a comfortable victory over Bangladesh in Antigua. Australia’s bowling attack produced another high quality performance restricting Bangladesh to a well under par 8/140, with Pat Cummins (3/29) and Adam Zampa (2/24) starring.
Despite consistent rain throughout their batting innings, Australia were in full control racing out to 0/59 after the powerplay and finished at 2/100 when the games called off after 11.2 overs. David Warner top scored with 53 not out off 35 deliveries, while Travis Head (31 off 21) and Glenn Maxwell (14* off 6) played handy cameos. The convincing win saw Australia jump to the top of the group with a net run rate of +2.471.
Adam Zampa has moved to second in the tournament’s leading wicket takers, with the leggie now having 11 wickets at an average of 10.70 with an economy rate of 5.90. Travis Head’s 31 against Bangladesh has him ranked as the third highest run scorer at the tournament, with 179 runs at an average of 44.75.
Marcus Stoinis has been arguably Australia’s most important player at the tournament, having a huge impact with both bat and ball. Despite only batting three times, Stoinis has scored 165 runs (ranked 7th) at an average of 78 with a strike rate of 190.24. To go with his batting, Stonis has taken 7 wickets (ranked 13th) at an average of 10.85 and an economy of 6.90.
Match Prediction: Given the expected conditions in St Vincent, this won’t be an easy game given the spinning conditions and tournament experience Afghanistan have displayed in the last twelve months. Rashid Khan’s side are no easy beats anymore, and they almost annihilated Australia at last year’s 50 over World Cup, if not for Glenn Maxwell’s famous innings.
Australia keep getting the job done regardless of the conditions and that’s largely due to the balance they have in their side. They’re playing quality cricket at the moment and will get over the line in a tough clash at Arnos Vale Stadium.
Travis Head hasn’t been at his fluent best, but he’s showing signs that he’s ready to explode. Head has scored 34, 34* 68 and 31 and given batting against the new ball has been the easiest time to score in St Vincent, so Head is a smart choice to be Australia’s highest run scorer.
Travis Head Top Australian Run Scorer
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