Afghanistan wins toss, elects to bat against New Zealand

New Zealand lost the toss against Afghanistan and will field in their must-win final group game at the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

New Zealand will seal the last semifinals spot without going into the complexities of net run-rates if they beat Afghanistan. Pakistan has already qualified for the semis from Group 2 while England and Australia are through to the last four from Group 1.

If Afghanistan wins against the Black Caps, India will be strong a contender to qualify for the semifinals because it will face unheralded Namibia in its last group game on Monday.

Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman returned to the side to beef up the attack after missing the last two games due to injury. He replaces Sharafuddin Ahmed.

New Zealand, playing their first group game at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium, made no change to the side that beat Namibia by 52 runs.

Afghanistan will be playing their third game at the venue. They lost to India by 66 runs in their last game but defeated Namibia by 62 runs.