The tournament favorite, England has won three out of four matches it has played yet. While, on the other side, the Afghanistan team has failed to emerge victorious in all the games they have played till now.
Pitch Conditions
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
The pitch at Old Trafford helped the spinners in the previous match, so the presence of some quality spinners in both the teams will make this battle even more exciting. Apart from this, the batsmen will get advantage from the track once settled.
Toss
Both the teams may prefer to bat first with the possibility of rain interruptions and DLS method in the game.
Total Matches played: 45
Matches won batting first: 18
Matches won batting second: 27
Tied/Abandoned: 1
Average scores in both innings
Average 1st innings score: 247
Average 2nd innings score: 233
Weather Conditions
In the last few weeks, Manchester weather has been cloudy, and the same is expected in this match too. Probability of rain interruptions is very high. Reports suggest that the temperature will hover around 19 °c and humidity will be approximately at 70%.
Team News: England
Although after registering a comfortable victory against Windies, injury scare is revolving around the team. Jason Roy didn’t come to bat in that match due to a hamstring strain, so his chances to play this match is very less. The England team might also miss the services of skipper Eoin Morgan who suffered a back spasm in the previous game. James Vince and Moeen Ali will be the best replacement for them if they both miss the game.
Full Squad: Eoin Morgan (C), Jason Roy, Joe Root, James Vince, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood.
Probable Playing XI
Jonny Bairstow, James Vince, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler (C&wk), Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Team News: Afghanistan
No injury concerns are revolving around the Afghanistan team. Even after the defeat in the last match, the team management might not do any alterations in the playing XI.
Full squad: Gulbadin Naib (capt), Aftab Alam, Asghar Afghan, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Ali Khil(wk), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shinwari.
Probable Playing XI
Hazratullah Zazai, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Ali Khil(wk), Gulbadin Naib (C), Rashid Khan, Hamid Hassan, Aftab Alam
Key Players
England: Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Rahmat Shah
Head to Head in World Cup
Total matches played– 1
England win-1
Afghanistan win– 0
Teams like South Africa, Pakistan, and maybe even Bangladesh will be supporting Afghanistan to slip up somewhere and create an opportunity for them among the top 4. But, on the other hand, it’s England, one of the most consistent teams of the tournament.
Let’s see what happens in this battle between the top-ranked and the bottom-ranked team of the World Cup 2019.
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