This will be the first time New Zealand and Afghanistan face off in a Test match and a series, as each of their 5 meetings have come at World Cups.
The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand will start in less than 12 hours. But here we stand uncertain about whether we’ll say the teams actually take the field at the Greater Noida Stadium. Afghanistan arrived in India at the end of August and have managed to play just one of their planned two 3-day matches. The reason behind the Pathans training getting derailed is the weather and the condition of the ground.
Afghanistan’s injury woes
Earlier today, Afghanistan’s opener, Ibrahim Zadran, was injured during fielding drills. Rain coupled with the poor condition of the outfield was the reason for Zadran’s unfortunate injury. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been perfect and isn’t expected to be great during the match (September 9-13).
Unsure about whether Zadran will take the field tomorrow after injuring his ankle, captain Hasmutullah Shahidi said, “He is being monitored now, and we will take a call tomorrow.” This won’t be the first blow for Afghanistan as they’ve already lost their best spinner, Rashid Khan, before the series even started.
Safe to play in Greater Noida Stadium?
New Zealand have suffered similarly. Two of their practice sessions have been completely wiped out since the Kiwis landed in Greater Noida, and on Sunday (September 8), they didn’t even take the field to train for the game. When asked about the condition of the outfield and whether he thinks it’s fit for the match to go ahead, Kiwi captain Tim Southee said. “The ground conditions come under the match referee and the officials. They decide whether it is fit enough. So as players, if they say ‘it’s fit’ then we go and play.”
Greater Noida Stadium doesn’t have a great drainage system. “Yahan to hum swimming kar sakte hain (We could easily swim here),” Shahidi had said after seeing the condition of the stadium when Afghanistan first arrived. He’d also added that the condition of the stadium hadn’t changed one bit since they played there in 2020. As if facing such a strong side as New Zealand wasn’t enough, now the Pathans have to go against unruly weather and an uncertain outfield.
Just last year, there was some furor over the Dharamshala pitch in the ODI World Cup. It was advised that players shouldn’t dive to avoid getting injured. We might see something here as well. An Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) official told Indian Express that stadiums in Afghanistan “have better facilities than this one (Greater Noida)”.
Pacers to thrive?
New Zealand isn’t talking things lightly and is bringing a full-strength side despite the match not being a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. They expect some resistance from Afghanistan, and playing at a new venue, things might not be so easy. Given how the pitch might be damp, we might see pacers come into the game, and that could add some problems for Afghanistan, a side that relies more on spinners traditionally.
AFG vs NZ One-Test Squads
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehman, Afsar Zazai, Nijat Masood, Shamsurrahman, Abdul Malik
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Tom Latham (wk), Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee (c), Matt Henry, Tom Blundell, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, William ORourke
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