England vs Afghanistan, ICC WC 2023, Today Match Prediction 15 October 2023

ENG vs AFG Match Prediction & Analysis

England will take on Afghanistan in the 13th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The defending champions beat Bangladesh in their last match at Dharamsala, securing their first win of the tournament.

It was a huge turnaround for England after a crushing defeat in the opening match. Afghanistan, on the other hand, have lost two matches on the trot so far. 

Their last match was against India at this same venue in Delhi where the hosts won by 8 wickets chasing down a target of 273 runs.

The two teams have locked horns only twice before - in the 2019 and 2015 World Cup. While there is no Eoin Morgan this time around, England have got Bairstow and Root who were among the top run-scorers against Afghanistan in 2019.

After a thrashing from India, the morale of the Afghan bowlers must be low. English batting lineup is deep and features many stars of the white-ball format.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

ENG

W L W W W

ENG

364/9 in 50.0 7.28

ICC WC 2023

England beat Bangladesh by 137 runs 10 Oct 2023

BAN

227/10 in 48.2 4.7

ENG

282/9 in 50.0 5.64

ICC WC 2023

New Zealand beat England by 9 wickets 05 Oct 2023

NZ

283/1 in 36.2 7.79

ENG

197/6 in 24.1 8.15

ICCWCWARMUP

England beat Bangladesh by 4 wickets (D/L) method 02 Oct 2023

BAN

188/9 in 37.0 5.08

ENG

334/8 in 50.0 6.68

ENG vs IRE

England beat Ireland by 48 runs 23 Sep 2023

IRE

286/10 in 46.4 6.13

ENG

311/9 in 50.0 6.22

ENG vs NZ

England beat New Zealand by 100 runs 15 Sep 2023

NZ

211/10 in 38.2 5.5

AFG

L L W L L

IND

273/2 in 35.0 7.8

ICC WC 2023

India beat Afghanistan by 8 wickets 11 Oct 2023

AFG

272/8 in 50.0 5.44

BAN

158/4 in 34.4 4.56

ICC WC 2023

Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets 07 Oct 2023

AFG

156/10 in 37.2 4.18

AFG

261/2 in 38.1 6.84

ICCWCWARMUP

Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets

03 Oct 2023

SL

294/10 in 46.2 6.35

AFG

289/10 in 37.4 7.67

Asia Cup 2023

05 Sep 2023

SL

291/8 in 50.0 5.82

BAN

334/5 in 50.0 6.68

Asia Cup 2023

Bangladesh won by 89 runs 03 Sep 2023

AFG

245/10 in 44.3 5.51

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

England Preview

Buttler must be happy with the comeback after a losing start to the tournament against New Zealand. A good finish helped England reach 282 runs batting first in their opening match of the World Cup.

Though it wasn’t an ideal total on that pitch, it was more than what was expected at one point in their innings with wickets tumbling down. What must have hurt the most in that game was not being able to break the Conway-Ravindra partnership and losing by 9 wickets.

Reece Topley came in for Moeen Ali in the next match and the left-arm fast-medium bowler picked 4 for 43 runs as England bowled out Bangladesh for 227 runs. Mark Wood was also exceptional with his economy finishing with 1 for 29 from 10 Overs.

A phenomenal bowling effort helped England to a huge 137-run win. They should now be confident with the ball going ahead in the tournament. Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid will be other key bowlers in this setup to watch out for.

It was bad shot selections against New Zealand that led to regular wickets and a lack of partnerships. A big hundred from Dawid Malan and a fifty each from Bairstow and Root in the top 3 will have boosted their confidence.

There is enough depth in this batting lineup with some quality finishers in the lower middle order. 

England Predicted Playing XI:

Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley

England Actual Playing XI:

Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Mark Wood

Afghanistan Preview

Quite a few players from their last World Cup campaign are out of the squad making way for the new ones. It is a promising overall side but is yet to make an impact in this tournament.

Hashmatullah Shahidi is an impressive batter but his captaincy will be tested in this tournament. He is leading a relatively inexperienced bowling attack. While they’ve still got Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Rashid Khan, the pace attack is completely new.

And though these pacers are quite promising, they aren’t as reliable against strong sides like India or England. In their last encounter against England, Shahidi was the top run-scorer for Afghanistan scoring 76 runs at number 4.

He scored 80 runs against India in the last match in Delhi and will be a key middle-order batsman. Rahmat Shah is another experienced batter in this lineup who was part of the 2019 World Cup campaign.

He hasn’t looked great so far but is a crucial figure at number 3. Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi follow the skipper in the batting order at 5 and 6 respectively. 

It looks like a solid middle-order with experienced and talented batters throughout. Zadran is a reliable batter at number 5 who can strike partnerships and has proved his abilities in the past.

Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Afghanistan Actual Playing XI:

Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Though historically it has not been a great batting surface, it has looked like a belter in this tournament so far. Plenty of runs can be expected in both innings with the ball coming onto the bat nicely. 

The ball can move a bit in the second innings, under the lights and the new-ball bowlers could have the upper hand. Skilled bowlers who can reverse swing will also come into play in the second innings. The weather will be partly cloudy with a high of 35 degrees Celsius.

ENG vs AFG Pitch Report

Arun Jaitley Staidum in Delhi will be the venue for this match. The average 1st innings score here is 231 runs but looking at the recent matches here, we reckon anything under 300 will be easily chased down. The team batting first should be looking for something over 320-330 runs to be competitive in the game.

Toss: To Bat

It is a great batting venue and teams have scored with ease on this ground so far this tournament. First, it was South Africa crossing the 400-run mark, and then India chased down 273 runs in just 35 Overs. We reckon batting first and having runs on the board will be a good strategy at this venue.