Can Afghanistan beat New Zealand: Afghanistan vs New Zealand Head to Head T20 Records

Can Afghanistan beat New Zealand: Afghanistan will have the support of whole of India during their last 2021 T20 World Cup Super 12 match.

There is no going into a safe house regarding the fact that New Zealand vs Afghanistan ICC T20 World Cup 2021 clash is going to be followed keenly by not just fans of the two teams but also from plentiful Indian fans.

With India losing their first two Super 12 matches against Pakistan and New Zealand in Dubai, their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals require nothing but a miracle.

India, who have already defeated Namibia and are on their way to defeat Scotland by a massive margin, will help their NRR (Net Run Rate) due to consecutive significant victories. Having said that, their chances of qualification not just depend on their NRR but also on the New Zealand-Afghanistan clash on Sunday.

Can Afghanistan beat New Zealand in ICC T20 World Cup 2021?

In a day match which will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, a loss for Afghanistan will automatically knock India out of the tournament.

New Zealand’s win will result in a couple of points for them taking their tally to 8. In such a scenario, both Afghanistan and India (assuming that they defeat Namibia) will be left behind with 6 points each to their name. Even if Afghanistan win, the second spot from Group 2 will depend on the NRR of New Zealand, Afghanistan and India.

As has been the case on multiple occasions in this tournament, New Zealand and Afghanistan will be playing their first-ever T20I against each other on November 7. In the absence of a T20I, there aren’t any numbers to pick a favourite between the two teams. However, it goes without saying that New Zealand are a much-better squad on paper when it comes to playing against Afghanistan irrespective of the format.

That being said, the nature of sport is such that one can’t and shouldn’t underestimate Afghanistan as they have a lot of experience when it comes to playing in Abu Dhabi. While New Zealand have lost their only T20I at this venue, Afghanistan have won nine and lost three out of their 12 T20Is here.

Hence, it would be interesting to see if Afghanistan register an upset by defeating New Zealand in this all-important match.

New Zealand vs Afghanistan ODIs

Readers must note that New Zealand and Afghanistan have played a couple of ODIs against each other till date. It was in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and 2019 when New Zealand had defeated Afghanistan by 6 and 7 wickets in Napier and Taunton respectively.