T20 World Cup 2021: Match 27 – Afghanistan vs Namibia Match Preview, Playing XI and broadcast details

Afghanistan and Namibia will clash in the 27th Match of the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. Both these sides will enter this contest on the back of contrasting results in their respective previous matches.

The Afghanistan side went down to the Pakistan side in their previous match. Wielding the willow first, Afghanistan posted a total of 147/6 in their 20-over quota. Even though the Afghanistan side was reduced to 76/6, skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib stepped up for their side.

The Nabi-Naib duo stitched together an unbeaten partnership of 71 runs for the 7th wicket to help the Afghanistan side past the 140-run mark. But then, an Asif Ali special snatched the match away from Afghanistan’s grasp.

In fact, till the 18th over of the Pakistan innings, Afghanistan had a good chance of victory, with Pakistan needing 24 runs off the last 2 overs. But then, Asif Ali scored 4 sixes in the 19th over bowled by Karim Janat to take Pakistan across the finish line.

Namibia will enter this clash on a confident note, after beating Scotland by 4 wickets in their previous match. Scotland struggled their way to 109/8, and the Namibia side went past the finish line with 5 balls to spare.

JJ Smit top-scored for the Namibia side with the willow. The right-hander scored a timely 32* off 23 deliveries as Namibia started their campaign in the Super 12 stages of the tournament on a victorious note.

Can Afghanistan brush aside the Namibia outfit, or will the Gerhard Erasmus-led side spring a surprise on the Mohammad Nabi-led team?

Pitch and Conditions

Chasing seems to perfectly work in Abu Dhabi. The team batting second has tasted success in 6 out of the 7 encounters played on this surface in this tournament. The spinners will be kept interested as well.

Playing Combinations for AFG vs NAM

Afghanistan

Afghanistan will go in with an unchanged playing XI for the clash against the Namibia side.

Predicted XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi (C), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Namibia

Namibia will also not indulge in chopping and changing. They will also field an unchanged playing XI.

Predicted XI: Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen, Zane Green (WK), Gerhard Erasmus (C), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Pikky Ya France, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz

AFG vs NAM Head-to-Head

This will be the first time that Afghanistan and Namibia are meeting in T20I cricket.

AFG vs NAM Broadcast Details

Match Timings – 03:30 PM IST

TV – Star Sports Network

Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar