T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan opt to field first against Papua New Guinea
Afghanistan won the toss and decided to put Papua New Guinea into bat on Friday at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad, in their third league game of the T20 World Cup 2024 on Friday.
A victory today will secure Afghanistan’s spot in the Super 8 stage of the tournament.
The Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said at the toss: “We want to bowl first because the dew could play a role later on, but we’ll need to execute the basics well and our mindset is to chase. We had a good break of six days, which allowed us to fully recover for this match. We aren’t focusing on the Super Eights yet; each game is crucial and we’re taking this one seriously. No changes for us.”
Papua New Guinea have been defeated in both their World Cup matches so far, but an unexpected victory today will keep them in the tournament along with New Zealand.
“We would have preferred to bowl first too, but our batters will need to set the tone for us. We’ve had a few days off and are well rested. We have played well and will look to continue that against Afghanistan tonight,” said PNG skipper Assad Vala.
Teams:
Papua New Guinea (Playing XI): Tony Ura, Assad Vala(c), Lega Siaka, Sese Bau, Hiri Hiri, Chad Soper, Kiplin Doriga(w), Norman Vanua, Alei Nao, John Kariko, Semo Kamea.
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
