Afghanistan vs Netherlands: Battle of giant-slayers in World Cup

Afghanistan and the Netherlands have taken the world by storm after they produced a host of stunning results to bring life to the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup. Afghanistan, who had only one win across two World Cups, downed three former champions - England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. On the contrary, the Netherlands, the only Associate team in the World Cup, gave almost all the teams a run for their money and managed to knock over England and Bangladesh. 

So, the clash between the two giant-killers promises to be one of the matches of the tournament. Both the teams will fancy themselves on a Lucknow track that should suit the likes of Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Rashid Khan, Aryan Dutt and Roelof van der Merwe.

Both the teams are hugely influenced by their coaches. Afghanistan, known to be an ultra-attacking batting side, used to fail in ODIs more often than not despite having a world-class spin-bowling attack. Their head coach Jonathan Trott has been able to infuse some sense into their batting and the way they chased down two competitive totals against Pakistan and Sri Lanka was refreshing to see.

Netherlands coach Ryan Cook, who has worked with Bangladesh and Sunrisers franchises as a fielding coach, has given fielding top priority and the results are evident. According to a graphic shown by the host broadcaster during their previous match, the Netherlands' catch efficiency in the tournament has been 86%, more than any team in the tournament. 

However, they will remain worried about their misfiring top-order. Most of the Netherlands' runs in this World Cup have come from the lower middle and lower order. They are heavily reliant on their captain Scott Edwards, who already has 204 runs at an average of 51 in the ongoing tournament. A superb player of spin and a compulsive sweeper, Edwards will be a key player against the Afghanistan spinners and a slow Lucknow pitch.

But they have a fine bowling attack with a lot of options. They are one of just five bowling attacks in the tournament who have a bowling average of less than 35. They have a lot of spin-bowling all-rounders and the likes of Paul van Meekeren and Bas de Leede have good change-ups.

Afghanistan's batting has been impressive in the tournament. Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been a powerplay destroyer and his partner Ibrahim Zadran has made an impact in the last game with a measured half-century. 

The likes of Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi, whose career strike-rates are low for modern-day ODI standards, have batted extremely well under pressure. Azmatullah Omarzai has developed himself as a fine all-rounder. 

The Netherlands have won just two out of nine ODIs against Afghanistan. The last time they defeated the Asian side was way back in 2012. Only Wesley Barresi from that XI is in the squad for the Dutch. The oldest player in the squad, Barresi was brought back into the team in the last match and the veteran batter hit a confident 41 against Bangladesh on a difficult wicket in Kolkata.

The Netherlands will bank on him to shepherd their top-order but they will be challenged by the new-ball threat of Fazalhaq Farooqi. A rare good fast bowler from Afghanistan, the left-arm seamer swung the ball up front and won the Player of the Match against Sri Lanka for his match-winning four-wicket haul.

Hashmatullah Shahidi's men will be confident ahead of the match and a win here will increase their chances to have a shot at an unlikely semi-final spot. On the other hand, the Netherlands will look to stun Afghanistan and try to ensure a top-eight finish in order to secure qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy.