With the 2023 World Cup reaching its business end, Australia will be hoping to seal the place in the semi-final and they look firm favourites to do so. In what will be the 39th match of the 2023 World Cup, Australia will face Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
After a slow star, headlined by two heavy losses to India and South Africa, Australia have got their campaign back on track with five consecutive wins. The five-time champions have gone from strength to strength with every game and beat England in Ahmedabad despite not having Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh for the game. However, they cannot take a plucky Afghanistan lightly.
Afghanistan are likely to seal a place in the semi-finals should they win their last two matches. The sub-continent nation are likely to give Australia a hard time despite the surface likely to suit Pat Cummins and co. Nevertheless, Afghanistan can exploit the conditions even if there is slight spin on the surface.
Squads for Australia vs Afghanistan:
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
When and Where to watch Afghanistan vs Australia?
The live streaming of the fixture will be on Disney+ Hotstar, while the live telecast takes place on Star Sports.
The two sides have met thrice in ODIs, out of which two were World Cup matches. Australia won all three games comfortably.