World Cup 2023 match today: The Netherlands will face Afghanistan in the 34th match of the ongoing tournament on Friday.
Starting as favourites on a tricky Ekana Stadium surface, with a quality spin attack at its disposal, Afghanistan (6 points) will not only look to secure two points against the Dutch (4 points) but also aim to win big and improve the net run-rate in its bid to remain relevant in the race to semi-final.
The manner in which Afghanistan’s top-order batted to outclass sides like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it showed that the victory against defending champions England wasn’t a mere flash in the pan.
The calm and collective batting effort of the Afghanistan team has found its own set of admirers in the ongoing World Cup and head coach Jonathan Trott has set the next target for his players — someone needs to bat deep and score a hundred in the remaining three games.
“Nobody has got a hundred so far yet, so that’s the next challenge. Someone accepts responsibility and batting for a longer period of time and make sure we get a hundred,” Trott said at the press conference after Afghanistan’s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Monday.
“You see, a lot of hundreds are scored in the tournament. That’s the next frontier, the next barrier. Gurbaz has scored a few hundreds recently, you know Ibrahim has. The middle order is in form, 3-4-5-6, as well. That’s the next challenge and I have got no doubt that the players will be able to (get a hundred) in the future. Hopefully, it starts with the next game,” Trott added.
The ‘Orange Army’, too have been a surprise package of this World Cup, securing upset wins over South Africa and Bangladesh.
It has put them ahead of Bangladesh and bottom-rung England in the 10-team standings to keep a slender semifinal qualification hopes alive although even their biggest supporters know that it would be miraculous if they happen to make it to final four. However, if they finish in the top eight, then they will qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.
Teams batting second have won nine of 12 ODI matches played at the Ekana, including two in the World Cup The Edwards-led Netherlands bowled out Bangladesh for a lowly 142 to secure yet another upset in the World Cup during their last match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
With two fifties to his name, the skipper Edwards will remain their batting mainstay alongside veteran Sybrand Engelbrecht, Colin Ackermann and Logan van Beek the designated finisher of the team.
Van Beek is also known to be giving breakthroughs in the middle as he would look to dent Afghan’s progress with his clever changes.