Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bowl first against New Zealand in the 16th match of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium In Chennai on Wednesday (Oct. 18).

Unbeaten New Zealand are eyeing their fourth consecutive win against Afghanistan who defeated defending champions Afghanistan in their last match.

Captain Kane Williamson is unavailable for the match, having fractured his thumb. In his absence, Tom Latham will take up the skipper’s role in the team.

The Kiwis will miss the services of Williamson but Latham has already shown that he has the ability to fill his big shoes as they look to maintain their winning streak in the quadrennial event against Afghanistan.

Having pulled off a historic win against England, Hashmatullah Shahidi’s side will be high on confidence and another win against New Zealand will simply put them on the reckoning for a spot in the knockouts of the ODI World Cup 2023.

New Zealand Playing XIs: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (capt, wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Mark Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Afghanistan Playing XIs: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

-with inputs from agencies