Australia vs. Afghanistan: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Cricket World Cup Preview
Australia will be looking to bounce back from their narrow loss to fierce rivals New Zealand when they take on an improving Afghanistan side in Perth.
The co-hosts showed remarkable fortitude to haul themselves back into the match with the Black Caps after being skittled out for a meagre score of 151. But despite the heroics of Mitchell Starc, Kane Williamson fired New Zealand to a one-wicket victory, leaving an unfamiliar bitter taste in Australian mouths.
The Baggy Greens will be the big favourites for this match with Afghanistan, but the Associate nation have showcased some quality of their own of late, beating Scotland in dramatic circumstances last time out. Here’s all the information you need on where to catch this one and a closer look at both teams on the brink of this enticing clash.
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Date: Wednesday, Mar. 4
Time: 6:30 a.m. (GMT), 1:30 a.m. (ET), 2:30 p.m. (Local)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), ESPN Cricket 2015 (US)
TV Info: Sky Sports 2 (UK)
Australia Searching for Initiative
While there’s little doubt this Australia team has more than enough quality to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament, the early stages of the competition have been far from ideal for Darren Lehmann’s men.
After a resounding win against England first up, they had a match with Bangladesh rained off and, following that, the heartbreaking loss to New Zealand. As a result, the momentum accrued from that opening win seems to have seeped away a little.
But as noted by former spin bowler Shane Warne, the patented Aussie fight was on show in earnest against the Black Caps:
This clash with Afghanistan is an ideal opportunity to inject some impetus into their World Cup campaign. Whether the team bats or bowls first, it’s an ideal chance to score some big runs or take a clutch of wickets respectively.
As noted by Cricket Australia, the Baggy Greens also look set to receive a timely boost, with all-rounder James Faulkner poised to return from injury:
His array of talents will bring plenty to this Australia team. Faulkner is a player who can take an innings away from a side with some big hitting at the end, and with the ball in hand, he’s a shrewd, variable operator. This match will be a perfect chance for him to get some time out in the middle and rediscover some sharpness with tougher challenges to come.
The Baggy Greens can’t afford to be too complacent, however. Afghanistan are a team that seem to be constantly improving. Their win over Scotland will give them an massive injection of confidence coming into this clash with the co-hosts; as noted by Mohandas Menon, it was a pretty historic triumph:
In truth, Afghanistan probably played better in their match against Sri Lanka, pushing the 2011 runners-up close in a four-wicket defeat, but overall the signs are encouraging. The blistering pace of bowlers like Shapoor Zadran and Hamid Hassan is enough to cause problems for any batsman, while Samiullah Shenwari is a very capable run scorer.
As noted by ICC, Shenwari was named man of the match in that historic win against Scotland after a fine 96:
Afghanistan have absolutely nothing to lose here. Their target coming into the tournament will have been to win a match and, having already done so, the pressure is off them. With that in mind, expect a decent performance from the underdogs in Perth.
But the quality that oozes from every pore of the Australia team will see them home. Lehmann's men should take heart from that late rally against New Zealand, but more than a fortnight on from their previous victory, getting two points on the board is imperative. Despite a stuttering start, expect no slip-ups here from the Baggy Greens.
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