The 13th match of the tournament will be played between England (ENG) and Afghanistan (AFG).
England is currently in 5th place with 2 points (0.553) in 2 matches as they won 1 and lost 1. Afghanistan is placed at the bottom (-1.907) of the points table as they lost both of their games.
England (ENG) Analysis:
After getting a heavy defeat in the inaugural World Cup against New Zealand they bounced back heavily and won their last encounter against Bangladesh by 137 runs.
Dawid Malan is back into his beast form and scored his maiden century in the World Cup and fourth in this year. This year is going great for Malan especially in ODI he has improved a lot and is scoring runs pretty well. Jonny Bairstow started well in both the matches but failed to go huge. Despite hitting a half century in the last match he was facing some problems in the start of the innings.
Joe Root scored 159 runs in 2 matches and in both the matches he scored half centuries but wasn’t able to touch the three figure mark. He might probably do in the upcoming match. In the last match he batted aggressively which is hard to see. Jos Butler, the leader of the team, batted in a feasible position and his best is yet to come. He can bat aggressively and defensively according to the situation demands.
Harry Brook the young lad of the team is playing his first tournament but looking little out of touch with the bat. In his recent few matches also he was unable to show the spark for which he is known for. Ben Stokes is yet to make his debut in this tournament. He is a solid batsmen in the middle order and can increase the run rate easily. Liam Livingstone, well known fire hitter in the death overs, misses the hitting in the death overs and out cheaply till now.
Sam Curran is unable to show his all round show. Neither he is contributing well in the batting nor with the ball he took many wickets. Also his bowling was expensive. Moeen Ali, the other all rounder for the team, wasn’t seen in the last match but is an impactful player in the middle overs and can also take wickets in the crucial situation. Chris Woakes also failed to capitalize in both the departments. Bowling point of view he got 2 wickets in the last match but was little expensive with the spell.
Adil Rashid is the main spinner for the team and he bowled well against Bangladesh. Reece Topley in his first match of the tournament showed a match winning spell as he got 4 wickets which ultimately took the Bengal Tigers on back foot. Mark Wood also bowled tremendously well in the last match where he only gave 29 runs in his 10 overs and also got a wicket.
Gus Atkinson and David Willey are yet to play their first match. Both of them have the capability to strike early for the team.
Predicted 11 for the Match:
Jos Butler ©, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Afghanistan (BAN) Analysis:
Afghanistan must be disappointed with the performance as they lost both of their matches. First with Bangladesh by 6 wickets and then from India by 8 wickets.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz got a good start but was unable to convert it into a big one. He was looking confident but with the match progress he lost the touch and got out. Ibrahim Zadran in both the matches scored 22 runs. He also started pretty well but again lost the rhythm and got out. He is a great batter in the 50 over format and must be in a mood to show his great skill again.
Rahmat Shah, one of the most experienced players in the squad is unable to get a good start and is lagging with the runs. Hashmatullah Shahidi, the leader of the team, played like a leader in the match against India where he scored 80 runs and took his team out of a dangerous situation. Azmatullah Omarzai was tested by sending up the order and this he proved his skipper right by scoring 62 runs which is also his best performance in the ODI.
Najibullah Zadran in both the matches couldn’t provide much and didn’t touch the double digit mark yet. Mohammad Nabi the most valuable and experienced guy who can bat and bowl well, is yet to show that spark which is missing out in both the categories. Rashid Khan the experienced and dependable guy bowled well against India as he only got those 2 wickets, but with the bat is still missing that fire power.
Mujeeb-ul-Haq is missing his line and length in this World Cup. he is wicketless till now. Fazalhaq Farooqi is showing discipline with his pace in the starting overs but in the death overs he is not looking so consistent. Naveen-ul-Haq also misses the rhythm he carries and is unable to show that spark.
Noor Ahmed bowled well during the IPL and was not included in the playing 11 yet. He might be seen in the upcoming match.
Predicted 11 for the Match:
Hashmatullah Shahidi ©, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmed.
Pitch Report and Weather Report:
The match will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. This pitch has already witnessed some high scoring matches. It is again supposed to be batsman friendly and a high scoring match is predicted.
Weather will be clear with 35 degree celsius in the daytime and will drop down to 23 degree celsius in the evening. No rain is expected and humidity will be around 40%.
Head to head (ENG vs AFG) in the World Cup:
They played 2 matches against each other in the World Cup.
| ENG | AFG | |
| Matches won | 2 | 0 |
Best 11 for the Match:
Jos Butler, Jonny Bairstow, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Mohammad Nabi, Sam Curran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Reece Topley, Mark Wood, Rashid Khan.