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There was a period when Australia had no concerns
while playing Afghanistan in the World Cup. The two previous ODI World Cup
games saw the five-time world champions acting with nothing less than
ruthlessness. Australia amassed 417 for 6 in Perth in 2015, driven by a
scorching 178 from David Warner, en route to a 275-run victory. 2019 saw
Australia easily defeat Afghanistan by seven wickets in Bristol, needing just
91 balls to win after Warner had previously hit 89 not out while bowling the
country out for 207.
However, there’s no way the Australians of 2023 will
be going to Wankhede Stadium with the expectation that they’ll win handily
again. Even with their five-game winning streak, Australia still faces a
formidable danger from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is vying for a spot in the
semi-finals after winning three straight games and defeating England, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands. Additionally, they have the ability to
highlight Australia’s biggest vulnerability. The spin quartet of Mujeeb Ur
Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, and Noor Ahmad may seriously disrupt
Australia’s batting lineup. During the 2022 T20 World Cup, a similar onslaught
nearly upset Australia on home soil, but the damage was mostly caused by the
speed of Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Australia benefits from the fact that Mumbai is very
different from the spin-friendly environments in Delhi and Chennai, where
Afghanistan has spun out Pakistan and England, respectively. Australia’s
strength is that Wankhede has scored the most runs in the tournament’s opening
innings thus far. In the last ten ODIs played at the site in Mumbai, spin has
likewise essentially had no effect. In T20 cricket, Australia’s batting unit
boasts excellent individual match-up records against Afghanistan’s spinners, despite
the fact that confronting spin has recently been Australia’s weak area in ODI
cricket.
Although Australia’s chances of securing a berth in
the final four are good, there is still another factor to take into account.
Similar to the T20 World Cup last year, Afghanistan’s opponent is somewhat
different from them in this encounter. Crick Some of the Afghanistan players
are still cognizant of Australia’s decision to postpone their country’s Test
match in November 2021 and their three-match ODI series in March 2023 due to
political considerations. Afghanistan is driven by a desire to make a statement
about their status in international cricket as well as a desire to prove a
point in this World Cup; additional motivation won’t stop them.