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Afghanistan vs New Zealand, ICC World Cup 2019: Match prediction
Afghanistan walk into this game as the underdogs.
The day-night encounter between Afghanistan and New Zealand on Saturday is likely to be an extremely one-sided encounter, if the form of the two sides in the World Cup 2019 is taken into consideration. While the Black Caps defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in their last two outings, Afghanistan are yet to get their first points on the board.
New Zealand is one one of three sides who have a 100% record in the tournament alongside Australia and India. They possess a strong batting unit, and their bowling, which caused trouble against India in the warm-up, might be too hot to handle for the Afghans.
The Afghans, however, have shown their talent and skills in the two games that they have played against Australia and Sri Lanka. They have been unable to keep their nerves in pressure situations though, and this inexperience can haunt them again against a superior side. They have suffered two batting collapses thus far, and with the New Zealand side possessing bowlers like Boult and Matt Henry, who have picked 10 wickets between them in this competition, their woes increase even further.
However, New Zealand's inconsistency in their batting department could be an area of weakness which the Afghans could exploit. The middle order can lose wickets in a fluryy, and this is where the Afghan pacers could come into the game. However, players like Williamson and Ross Taylor have enough skills to take care of a downlslide. As such, they are the firm favourites.
