ICC World Cup 2019, AFG vs AUS Preview: All eyes on Rashid, Nabi's magic

Afghanistan would be high on confidence after win over Pakistan in warm-up game but Australia's aggressive bowling and batting would be a different challenge. Moreover, an upset looks less likely

Defending champions Australia will look for a perfect start when they take on Afghanistan in their opening game of the 2019 World Cup at the County Ground in Bristol on Saturday. While Afghanistan are no match for Australia on paper, they will take confidence from their win against Pakistan in the warm-up encounter. Despite peaking at the right time, the Australians will be aware that Afghanistan have the ability to rise to the challenge on the world stage. Even though the batting is a cause for concern for the Afghans, they have quality bowlers in Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi and the duo can trouble the Australian batsmen if the wickets are dry and take turn.

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The two put on impressive displays in the game against Pakistan as Nabi picked three wickets and Rashid picked two and Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell has also spoken about how Rashid could be the game-changer for Afghanistan this time round in England.

In the batting department, Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib has Hazratullah Zazai and Hashmatullah Shahidi to bank on as the duo showed great composure against Pakistan to chase down 263 despite the presence of quality bowlers in the Pakistan line-up in the form of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz.

For Australia, there will be a problem of plenty as David Warner managed to pass the fitness test on Friday. In that case, Coach Justin Langer will have to look at whether he plays in-form Usman Khawaja at number three or drops him altogether.

The return of Steve Smith also bolsters the middle-order and Australia skipper Aaron Finch will be more than pleased to have his services and experience in the showpiece event.

Australia's bowling already wears a quality look with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa set to play. It will be interesting to see if Australia go in for an additional spinner in Nathan Lyon or go for another pacer in Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Afghanistan Team News: Afghanistan may not have the arsenal to compete with Australia when it comes to batting, at the same time, the Australian pace bowling attack can demolish any strong batting line-up. One area where Afghanistan can trap the defending champions is the spin bowling with Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi in their playing 11.

Mujeeb ur Rahman would be deployed with new ball and he may have the company of Dawlat Zadran in the initial overs. Still , batsmen will have to put up a show in front of agressive bowling attack and Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Ashgar Afghan and Hashmatullah Shahidi have a mountain to climb.

Australia Team News: As Steve Smith and David Warner return to the side, the Aussies are more stronger than before. The Aaron-Finch-led side does not face much challenge in their first match but they would look to maintain dominance right from the start. David Warner and Aaron Finch would look to attack Afghanistan's key bowlers while Usman Khawaja would be crucial considering  his position in the batting line-up. Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc would be a tough challenge for Afghanistan batsmen.

Afghanistan key players: Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb ur Rahman

Australia key players: David Warner, Adam Zampa and Mitchell Starc

Here are the predicted playing 11 for Afghanistan vs Australia

Afghanistan playing 11: Gulbadin Naib(C), Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Ashgar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Aftab Alam and Dawlat Zadran.

Australia playing 11: Aaron Finch (C), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa/ Nathan Lyon,  Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc.

ICC World Cup 2019, Macth 4: Afghanistan vs Australia Live streaming details

Date and Day: June 1, 2019, Saturday.

Place: Bristol County Ground, Bristol

Time: 6:00 pm IST

The World Cup 2019 Afghanistan vs Australia match live streaming will be available live on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 in English Commentary and Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD in Hindi Commentary. The live streaming of the World Cup 2019 Afghanistan vs Australia match will be available on Hotstar.

Squads:

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (capt), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon