Australia
The Aussies have injury clouds hanging over three players, with Aaron Finch, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis failing to field for the full 20 overs against Ireland. Finch looks highly unlikely to play after the hamstring injury he suffered against Ireland, however reports suggest David & Stoinis’ absences were precautionary. The likely change for Australia would be a straight swap of Finch for Cameron Green, with the bigger discussion point around who would take the captaincy in Finch’s absence.
Australia’s 45 run win over Ireland wasn’t enough to overtake England on net run rate, meaning that if England win their final game against Sri Lanka on Saturday, the Aussies are going to need to annihilate Afghanistan to qualify for the Semi Finals. What complicates matters for the Australian’s is that their final group game is before England’s, meaning they won’t know the exact scenario of what they require. Australia’s best opportunity to boost their net run rate will come by batting first, so expect an attacking onslaught by the hosts with nothing to lose.
Cameron Green will provide an exciting option at the top of the order for the Australian's which they desperately need. Australia's opening partnership have yeilded returns of only 5, 26 and 8 runs across the three games so far this tournament. The Australian's will be ruing the missed opporuntiy of not beating Ireland by more after having the Irish 5/25, with Lorcan Tucker's 71* looming as the difference between the Aussies missing the Semi Finals.
Predicted XI: Cameron Green, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan
Afghanistan sit at the bottom of Group 1 without a win from their four games so far at this tournament, after a six wicket loss against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. It’s been a difficult tournament for Afghanistan with two of their four games so far being washed out, which hasn’t allowed the side to build any momentum.
Afghanistan’s bowlers were taken apart by the Sri Lankan’s on Tuesday, as they chased down 145 with ease. Afghanistan used seven bowlers, with four of the seven conceding over eight runs per over. Afghanistan’s batsmen struggled badly against leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga who took 3/13 from his four overs. Adam Zampa will fancy his chances in this clash after Afghanistan's inability to cope with leg spin on a batting friendly surface at the Gabba.
Afghanistan will be looking for Rashid Khan to wreak havoc on his adopted home ground at the Adelaide Oval. Rashid has been one of the greatest imports in the history of BBL playing for the Adelaide Strikers, and has taken an abundance of wickets under lights at the Adelaide Oval.
Predicted XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Farid Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Betting Tips
Afghanistan are out of the tournament and have nothing but pride to play for in their last game of the tournament, which could play into Australia’s hands given their need for a big boost to their net run rate. The last four times Australia have batted first in a T20I they’ve scored more than 175 runs, including 5/179 the Aussies scored against Ireland on Monday that could have easily been a score of 190 plus. Australia have no choice but to go big on Friday night, and Afghanistan simply don’t have a bowling attack that is capable of containing the Australian batting unit.
Australia To Score More Than 175 Runs
$2.70
With uncertainty around the fitness of three of Australia’s top six batsmen, David Warner looms as the smart choice to be Australia’s leading run scorer. Despite his quiet World Cup, Warner’s 2022 has been productive with 315 runs at an average of 35 with a strike rate of 148. The last time Australia played a T20I at the Adelaide Oval David Warner smashed an unbeaten century, and will be crucial in the Australian's getting on top of Rashid Khan.
David Warner Australia High Bat, $3.60 with TAB
