ICC World Cup, Netherlands vs Afghanistan: Pitch and weather report
The Netherlands and Afghanistan will be up against each other in Match 34 of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in Lucknow on November 3. The Dutch side has exceeded expectations with wins over South Africa and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Afghanistan have a realistic chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, having won three of their six games. Here are the pitch and weather reports.
Here are the track conditions
The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow will host this affair on Friday. The pitch here is generally low and slow and assists spinners. Fast bowlers are also expected to get some assistance early on. Batters, who have built their innings patiently, have managed to score runs. The toss-winning skipper is likely to choose bowling first.
Will rain play any part?
The weather forecast for Lucknow on the match day suggests a cricket-friendly atmosphere. As per Accuweather, there are no chances of rain during the day though the cloud cover will be 13 percent. Humidity levels are expected to hover around 30 percent. The temperature is predicted to decrease to 22 degrees Celsius in the evening time.
Here are the stadium stats
The BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium has witnessed 13 ODI matches where teams bowling first have won nine games. 229 reads the average score batting first. South Africa's 311/7 against Australia in this ODI World Cup is the highest team total here. Netherlands lost to Sri Lanka in their only previous outing here in the ongoing tournament.
Here are the playing XIs
Netherlands probable XI: Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Wesley Barresi, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (C & WK), Bas de Leede, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Ryan Klein, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren. Afghanistan probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
