Preview: Spin test awaits as New Zealand take on Afghanistan

Mohammad Nabi's men didn't enjoy a good start to their Super12 campaign as they lost their opening match to England by five wickets. The batting unit couldn't deliver with a competitive score, as England restricted them to a paltry 112, but the bowlers fought hard and tried their best to make the most out of the contest. Their efforts helped Afghanistan in avoiding a big dip in NRR as they made England toil hard until the penultimate over of the match to chase down the total.

Now Afghanistan will be banking on their bowlers once again as they gear up to tame the Kiwis this time. While the New Zealand batters have always been excellent players of pace bowling, it's really the Afghan spinners who are going to pose a tough challenge in front of them.

The Kiwis don't have the best record when it comes to batting against spin. It's been just a week since South Africa bundled them out for 98 in their warm-up fixture and the damage there was done by their spin duo of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, who picked up five wickets between them while going at just 5.50 runs per over. So, New Zealand need to be very careful while handling Afghanistan's spin trio of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

The Afghan spin trio picked up three wickets between them against England while maintaining a combined economy rate of 5.00. That's an excellent effort while defending a low total and they will be looking to deliver an equally good performance against the Kiwis.

However, Kane Williamson and his men have momentum in their favour as they are coming into this match on the back of a big win against Australia. The batters delivered an excellent performance after the dismal show against South Africa and the bowlers were brilliant as usual. So, they are riding high on confidence right now and that plays a big part in major tournaments - this is going to be quite an exciting contest with plenty to look forward to.

Super 12 Standings

New Zealand
Devon Conway (wk), Finn Allen, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Afghanistan
Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi

**Devon Conway:**The top-order batter has delivered consistently since his debut for New Zealand in this format. Conway has amassed 1033 T20I runs so far at an excellent average of 57.38. He is also coming into this match on the back of an outstanding knock of 92* against Australia and he will be looking to carry his form forward into this contest against Afghanistan.

**Mohammad Nabi:**The Afghanistan skipper is a crucial player for them. Nabi plays a vital role with the bat in the middle order and is also a bankable bowling option. Although he couldn't do much with the bat against England, he bowled an effective spell of 3-0-16-1. But he was seen in good batting form in the warm-up fixtures as he scored 41* and 51* against Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.

Dream11 Fantasy Picks

Captaincy Pick: Lockie Ferguson

The Afghan batters don't have a good record against high-end pace and that's why Lockie Ferguson has a great chance of picking up multiple wickets in this contest. Ferguson has picked up 33 T20I wickets so far at an excellent average of 16.24. He has also maintained a mean economy rate of 6.84 to go with that.

Must-have Pick: Rashid Khan

It doesn't matter which match it is or who the opposition is, you just have to pick Rashid Khan. The wrist-spinner has the ability to destroy batting line-ups on his own as summed up by his 119 T20I scalps that have come at an outstanding average of 14.23. Rashid is also a handy batter, which means he can add a lot of value to your fantasy team with the runs he scores.

Differential Pick: Ish Sodhi

He might not be as in demand as the three Afghan spinners in this contest, but Sodhi has always been a wicket-taker for New Zealand in this format. He bowled a good spell of 4-0-29-1 against Australia, including the wicket of Glenn Maxwell.