(Cricket News) Netherlands and Afghanistan are set to face each other at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow in the 34th match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. The last time these two teams faced each other in an ICC event was at the 2016 T20 World Cup, where Afghanistan beat Netherlands by 21 runs.

What to Expect

Afghanistan have suprised many fans and experts during this World Cup with victories over England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They are a couple of wins away from qualifying for the semi finals and this will be the first time they qualify in the semi finals in for an ICC events.

Netherlands have had their ups and downs in this World Cup with losses against Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia. But their win against South Africa, one of the favorites to win the World Cup gave them a huge boost in their campaign and their win against Bangladesh boosted their morale.

Match Timings

Match toss time: 13:30 IST (11:00 GMT)

Match start time: 14:00 IST (11:30 GMT)

Match venue: Ekana Stadium, Lucknow

Head-to-Head

Matches played: 9 matches. Afghanistan: 7. Netherlands: 2.

Notable Stats

Highest Run Scorer: Scott Edwards (208 runs)

Highest Wicket Taker: Mujeeb ur Rahman (7 wickets)

Weather Conditions: 31° C, Mostly Sunny

Average first inning score: 229.

Team News and Probable Playing XI

Netherlands

Vikramjit Singh, MP O’Dowd, W Barresi, Colin Ackermann, S Edwards (C), BFW de Leede, SA Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Shariz Ahmad, Aryan Dutt, PA van Meekeren.

Afghanistan

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, R Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad.

Predictions

SpogoNews predicts Afghanistan will beat Netherlands due to the spin-friendly nature of the pitch.

See also: India Dominates Asia Cup Final Rematch, Dismissing Sri Lanka for 55 Runs