Afghanistan eye morale-boosting win to end campaign

Following up on their highs of 2024 was always going to be difficult for Afghanistan. Paired with South Africa and New Zealand, Afghanistan always knew that they had to win at least one of those games to stay in the reckoning for a place in the Super Eights. Unfortunately, they were up against it right from the start as those two were also their initial opponents in the tournament.

Losing both those matches hurt their chances big time and they had to rely on an upset from Canada to keep them in contention. While Canada briefly threatened, that pressure with their lack of experience was never going to sustain against New Zealand who sealed their spot, leaving this final clash of Group D inconsequential.

The inability of the Afghanistan spin attack to pose more questions to the opposition batting lineup was something that stood out in the two defeats, especially given that Afghanistan have only played day games so far. Mujeeb Ur Rahman had a good outing against New Zealand and Rashid Khan was excellent against South Africa. But Noor Ahmad has had a poor tournament and Mohammad Nabi has been relegated to a very restricted role with both bat and ball - throwing doubts over his future in the national side given his age. At certain moments, Afghanistan looked like they might fall short against UAE as well before Azmatullah Omarzai bailed them out.

On Thursday (February 19), they will be up against a team that finally fared well with the bat against New Zealand, although that was largely thanks to a one-man show from Yuvraj Samra. Canada will have their task cut out yet again against a side that will be desperate to finish their campaign on a high note.

Canada's bowling attack will once again be under the scanner after they put up an erratic display against New Zealand, squandering the early advantage. While there are question marks over Nabi's future, Canada's Navneet Dhaliwal has already confirmed that this would be his final fixture in international cricket.

@B0$ Afghanistan vs Canada, Thursday, February 19 at 7 PM IST

@B1$MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

@B2$The pitches have been pretty good to bat on at Chepauk this time. While teams generally prefer to chase in evening games, it's worth remembering that dew didn't have an effect in the USA-Netherlands fixture last week.

@B3$

@B4$

Ziaur Rahman Sharifi was handed an opportunity in the last game but failed to impress. Afghanistan could contemplate giving Abdullah Ahmadzai a game in this dead rubber.

@B5$ Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Abdullah Ahmadzai

@B6$

With nothing to play for, Canada might opt to give some fringe players a go, especially in the bowling department.

@B7$Yuvraj Samra, Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Navneet Dhaliwal, Harsh Thaker, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Dilon Heyliger, Jaskaran Singh, Ansh Patel

@B8$

"We had some unbelievable games and tours with him. He has been someone who has taken Afghanistan cricket where it is now. I think he had worked so hard with the guys, every single one. I think definitely everyone around will miss him so much." - Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan on departing head coach Jonathan Trott.

"The best memory was when we first qualified for (T20) World Cup. After that, when I scored in the opening game of the World Cup last time. And also when I become (became) a captain, that was a proud moment for me." - Navneet Dhaliwal on his best moments for Canada