Rashid vs Conway could be key contest when Afghanistan take on New Zealand in WC match

New Zealand’s Devon Conway, who is arguably the best player of spin in the New Zealand line-up, will have a major role to play against Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and company in Wednesday’s T20 World Cup match in Melbourne.

Afghanistan has made good progress in T20 cricket – and now have Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq to back up their spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.

All three spinners will dip into their Big Bash League (BBL) experiences, which captain Nabi alluded to during the pre-match press conference.

Afghanistan’s batting and catching, however, doesn’t appear as healthy, ESPN crickinfo reported. Against England in Perth last weekend, they subsided to 112 all out from 82 for 3 and then dropped Alex Hales twice during their defense.

They can’t afford such slip-ups against a razor-sharp New Zealand side as one more defeat could push them closer to elimination, ESPN’s match preview stated.

Afghanistan’s six-or-nothing batting template, which is fairly comparable to West Indies’, may not quite suit the conditions in Australia. This is where Ibrahim Zadran comes in as a key player on the batting front.

Zadran isn’t a big hitter like Rahmanullah Gurbaz or Hazratullah Zazai, but has both the technique and temperament to construct or reconstruct an innings. The 20-year-old’s recent form is also encouraging: he has thirty-plus scores in each of his last five T20I innings.

Last weekend, England’s Mark Wood exposed Afghanistan’s vulnerability against high pace and bounce, ESPN stated.

Nabi, who has played for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, said he has never seen an MCG pitch so green. “Yes, at that time in Big Bash, it was drier,” Nabi said on Tuesday. “The ball swings early on for one or two overs, but after that it will be a little bit slower, [some] help for spinners, and the ball won’t swing that much.

“But here the pitch is new and also a little bit green. as well, and also the weather is cold.”

But both Afghanistan and New Zealand will have the benefit of watching what unfolds in the game prior to theirs, with Ireland facing England first up.

Wednesday’s match gets underway at 12.30pm Kabul time and for Afghanistan’s cricket fans, the match can be watched live on Ariana Television.