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CricBattle Daily Fantasy Cricket League Tips

Afghanistan vs New Zealand on June 8

Afghanistan entered the World Cup with so many aspirations, but their batting doesn’t seem competitive for cricket at this level. Against Sri Lanka and Australia, they struggled to get going with the bat and although they had the advantage against Sri Lanka, they failed to get over the line. They’re palpably not playing their best cricket and Saturday afternoon won’t be any easy. Both sides from Oceania were off to a sensational start, with Australia taking down Afghanistan and Windies whilst New Zealand won their opening two games against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The next assignment for the Kiwis is again to lock horns with Afghanistan and this one too could be a tricky contest just the way it was against Bangladesh. Both these sides met just once previously in any format and that happened in the previous World Cup.

Best economical pick – Trent Boult hasn’t picked up a whole lot of wickets but has been accurate with his line and lengths. He bowls in the powerplay and at the death, and considering that he hasn’t flattered to deceive by any means. Boult has the ability to run through a batting lineup as well, provided he is in full flow.

Top captains & vice captains – Ross Taylor is 35 years, but even at this age, he is a fulcrum of the New Zealand batting lineup. He has nerves of steel and it was on display when he scored 82 under pressure versus the Tigers. The knock also fetched him the Player of the Match award. He was the Kiwis’ leading run-getter in 2018 and has carried forward the form this year as well. Mohammad Nabi has been a ranger for the Afghans in his career and he has done well in the mega event as well. The Loge-born didn’t have much to cheer against the Aussies, having gotten out cheaply and returning wicketless. Nevertheless, the experienced campaigner came back and churned out a four-wicket haul versus the Lankans.

Smart pick – From the warm-ups, Kane Williamson has done decently in the World Cup. He doesn’t play shots out of anger and plays according to the situation. The Tauranga-born scored 40 versus Bangladesh, but he took 72 balls to score those runs and only hit one boundary. He looked a tad short of rhythm and only needs to inject some momentum into his knock whenever he gets his eye.

Cautions Pick – It was massively disappointing to see the way James Neesham got out in the last game. Rather than looking to play risk-free cricket under pressure, he tried playing ambitious shots leaving the team in all sorts of trouble.

My XI – Ross Taylor (Captain), Mohammad Nabi (Vice-Captain), Trent Boult, Kane Williamson, Hazratullah Zazai, Matt Henry, Rashid Khan, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, Noor Ali Zadran, Martin Guptill