Though it should be a one-sided affair as per the form and rankings of both the teams, there are some injury-related issues for the English side as Roy is set to miss the match and no certainty for Morgan too.
England has so far easily been one of the best teams of this world cup. Having won 3 out of 4 games, they are sure to win the 4th one now. They are too strong against the likes of Afghanistan, with their batting, bowling, and fielding at their freaking best. They would be hoping for a rain-free match so that they can continue with the winning momentum.
Afghanistan has certainly disappointed everyone in this tournament. Not only they performed poorly on field, but the off the field activities also hampered their chances of winning games. First the keeper Mohammad Shahzad claimed he was fit and accused of the Afghan board dropping him without consulting and then they dropped in the most successful batsman Najibullah from the team against South Africa.
The weather is expected to have light showers during the day, a situation where teams would like to bowl first after winning the toss.
Players to watch out for
Joe Root, the leading run-scorer (279) for England in this tournament, could score another hundred. The stylish orthodox batsman has already scored two hundred in the competition. If he scores a big ton, he will surely surpass Shakib’s record of most runs (384) in this World Cup.
Rashid Khan hasn’t performed at all for the team. He and Russell have been the biggest disappointment of World Cup 2019. One of the rare players who couldn’t perform after Tendulkar predicted him as one of the players to watch out. This is the day to make a comeback as a loss here would be the end of any chance of reaching the semis.
England v Afghanistan in ODIs:
Overall: Matches 1, England Won 1, Afghanistan Won 0
World Cup: Matches 1, England won 1, Afghanistan won 0
Recent Form (most recent first): England W W L W W, Afghanistan L L L L W
ICC Rankings: England (1), Afghanistan (10)
Upcoming Records:
Joe Root has scored 481 runs in World Cup and needs 19 more to reach the 500 runs milestone in the World Cup.
Hasmatullah Shahidi needs 44 more for 1000 Runs in ODIs, he will be the 9th Afghani player to reach the milestone.
Squads:
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (capt), Aftab Alam, Asghar Afghan, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shinwari.
