NZ vs AFG ODI Match Prediction & Betting Tips, Cricket World Cup 2023
Match 16 of the 2023 Cricket World Cup brings New Zealand and Afghanistan together in Chennai on Wednesday afternoon for a day-night clash. New Zealand have got off to an excellent start in the tournament with convincing victories over England, the Netherlands and Bangladesh so far. Afghanistan were beaten Bangladesh and India in their opening two games before producing one of the all-time greatest World Cup upsets as they beat the 2019 winners England by 69 runs on Sunday. Read on as we preview this group stage match. The match gets underway at the MA Chidambaram, Chepauk at 14:00 local time.
New Zealand went all the way to the final in 2019 before losing on boundary count-back after a tie and a super over decider. They have got off to a flying start in this campaign with three wins from three and they should be too strong with both bat and ball for Afghanistan.
Afghanistan had only won one Cricket World Cup game, a 1-wicket win over Scotland in 2015, before their famous win over England on Sunday. Although the team will be full of self-belief coming into this clash, they will need another top performance to be competitive against New Zealand.
New Zealand vs Afghanistan ODI Match Live Streaming
TV channels: This game will be broadcast on Sky Cricket, Sky Sports AFG, Willow TV and Star Sports
Live Streaming: You can live-stream the match on Disney+ Hotstar and Sky Go
NZ vs AFG Match Toss Prediction
The last two ODIs at this venue have seen the team batting second win the match and we predict that both teams will want to field first in this clash.
NZ vs AFG Pitch Report
This will be the third match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium so far in this 2023 Cricket World Cup and we have seen a pitch where generally the bowlers have been on top. A par score will be around 300 but batting will not be easy.
14 out of 25 ODIs at this venue have been won by the team batting first but we are seeing a safe winning approach from the chasing teams. If the batters take time to settle themselves on the pitch before going for big shots then they can chase the target.
Chennai Weather Report
There will be a combination of cloud and sunny spells during the afternoon in Chennai before clear skies later in the evening. The temperature will fall no lower than 27 degrees.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds, and match prediction for New Zealand vs Afghanistan, World Cup 2023
New Zealand Team News & Playing 11
New Zealand Team News
After finally making his international return following a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson then fractured his thumb in New Zealand’s win over Bangladesh on Friday. He could make a return later in the group stage but will certainly miss this match of World Cup 2023.
New Zealand Team Key Players
- Devon Conway - The left-handed opener has an excellent international record across the globe but is particularly strong in India. From his six ODI innings in India he averages 76.80.
- Darly Mitchell - The batting all-rounder is one of the most confident batters in world cricket at the moment and this was shown when he hit his first ball for six against Bangladesh before finishing on 89 not out from 67 balls.
- Rachin Ravindra - Rachin Ravindra looks in good form and we are backing as one of the key-all rounders in this match for the Kiwis. Ravindra has scored 183 runs and picked 2 wickets in 3 matches so far.
New Zealand Key Batsmen Stats
| Player |
Mat (ODI) |
Inns |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
SR |
100s |
50s |
| Devon Conway |
25 |
24 |
1103 |
152* |
52.52 |
88.80 |
5 |
3 |
| Darly Mitchell |
32 |
28 |
1162 |
129 |
50.52 |
94.85 |
4 |
4 |
| Rachin Ravindra |
15 |
11 |
372 |
123* |
37.20 |
113.06 |
1 |
2 |
- Trent Boult - The smiling opening bowler continues to be a very hard opponent for batters at this level. He dismissed Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy during the victory in Match 11.
- Mitchell Santner - The left-arm spin bowling all-rounder bowled one of the two maiden overs across the game in the win over Bangladesh. He has picked up 8 wickets already in this campaign.
New Zealand Key Bowlers Stats
| Player |
Mat (ODI) |
Inns |
Overs |
Wkts |
BBM |
Ave |
Econ |
SR |
5w |
| Trent Boult |
107 |
106 |
967.0 |
200 |
7/34 |
23.84 |
4.93 |
29.0 |
6 |
| Mitchell Santner |
97 |
92 |
749.5 |
99 |
5/50 |
36.74 |
4.85 |
45.4 |
2 |
New Zealand Team Form
New Zealand have now won five ODIs in a row and victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday will mean six successive wins in this format.
New Zealand Predicted Playing 11
Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c) (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Afghanistan Team News & Playing 11
Afghanistan Team News
Although it is a different venue in a different city, it would be a big surprise if there were to be any changes for Afghanistan in this match after their historic win in the last game. Particularly with the Chepauk ground likely to assist the spinners again, we expect to see the same XI take the field on Wednesday.
Afghanistan Team Key Players
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz - Freed from wicket-keeping duties, the 21 year old opener took the attack to England’s experienced bowling unit in Delhi hitting 12 boundaries in his 57-ball innings.
- Ibrahim Zadran - The 21 year old right-handed batting all-rounder has not been at his best in this format over recent games but still shared in an opening partnership of 114 in the win over England.
- Azmatullah Omarzai - Omarzai is performing well with both bat and ball. He has scored more than 100 runs so far and picked a wicket as well. His form can help AFG to win more matches.
Afghanistan Key Batsmen Stats
| Player |
Mat (ODI) |
Inns |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
SR |
100s |
50s |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz |
29 |
29 |
1106 |
151 |
39.50 |
87.01 |
5 |
3 |
| Ibrahim Zadran |
22 |
22 |
983 |
162 |
49.15 |
83.23 |
4 |
4 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai |
16 |
11 |
240 |
62 |
26.66 |
82.75 |
0 |
2 |
- Rashid Khan - The most famous face and name in Afghanistan cricket was at his best in Sunday’s victory and it was appropriate that he took the final wicket to secure the win.
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman - It is not very often that any bowler, let alone a spinner manages to upstage Rashid Khan for Afghanistan but it happened against England with the 22 year old taking the Player of the Match Award.
Afghanistan Key Bowlers Stats
| Player |
Mat (ODI) |
Inns |
Overs |
Wkts |
BBM |
Ave |
Econ |
SR |
5w |
| Rashid Khan |
97 |
92 |
823.2 |
177 |
7/18 |
19.78 |
4.25 |
27.9 |
4 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman |
69 |
68 |
604.3 |
96 |
5/50 |
26.56 |
4.21 |
37.7 |
1 |
Afghanistan Team Form
After their convincing 69 run win over England on Sunday, Afghanistan will believe that they can match any side, particularly on a spinning wicket.
Afghanistan Predicted Playing 11
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Head to Head
New Zealand and Afghanistan have met at the last two Cricket World Cups with the Black Caps winning by 6 wickets in 2015 and by 7 wickets in 2019.
NZ vs AFG Head to Head Stats in ODIs
| |
Matches Played |
NZ Won |
AFG Won |
Tie |
NR |
| Overall |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Last 5 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Recommended: Detailed Head to Head Stats of NZ vs AFG
New Zealand vs Afghanistan Betting Odds
The loss of Kane Williamson again does leave New Zealand slightly more vulnerable but they are still overwhelming favourites with the bookies at 1.22. Afghanistan will come into this match as the underdogs once more at 3.75.
Who will win New Zealand vs Afghanistan ODI Match?
Although some pundits will be predicting a second successive upset for Afghanistan, New Zealand have a team which is full of consistent performers. Afghanistan are exciting but New Zealand look most likely to be the top side.
🏆 New Zealand vs Afghanistan Prediction
Before Afghanistan shocked England on Sunday, most commentators would have expected an easy contest for New Zealand in this game. However, with the conditions in Chennai likely to suit some of Afghanistan’s bowling attack, we could well be in for another interesting match. Player for player, and even with Tim Southee and Trent Boult out of the side, New Zealand have much more top level experience and are in stronger form than Afghanistan. Overall, we are expecting Afghanistan’s youthful side to cause the Black Caps some worries but our prediction is for New Zealand to win again and make it four wins in a row in the tournament.
New Zealand to beat Afghanistan
Oct 18, 2023
14:00 IST / 8:30 GMT
MA Chidambaram Stadium - Chennai, India
Leave Your Comment
We do our best to give you most accurate & useful match predictions and would love to hear from you. Let us know if we need to improve. Share your own predictions for the matches. Let's talk: