Afghanistan will chase their first victory of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 when they face West Indies in a dead-rubber at Headingley, Leeds on July 4 (Thursday). Eight matches in the tournament and Afghanistan are still without a victory despite coming close to upsetting all three of their Asian rivals – i.e., India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. But their short-term promises have borne no fruits much like their opponents West Indies, who showed more than enough promise in their thrashing victory over Pakistan but has since lost the plot with six consecutive defeats. Meanwhile, West Indies skipper Jason Holder has won the toss and elected to bat first.  Afghanistan vs West Indies Cricket Score 42th ODI Match.

Oshane Thomas replaced Shanon Gabriel in the Windies playing XI, while Hamid Hassan and Hashmatullah Shahidi were replaced by Dawlat Zadran and Sayed Shirzad in the Afghanistan line-up. Afghanistan are placed at the bottom of the points table without a point, while West Indies ninth with just three points from eight games.

Take a Look At the Playing XI of Both Teams:

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib(c), Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shinwari, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil(w), Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Sayed Shirzad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

West Indies (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder(c), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach.

When these sides last met in World Cup qualifiers in 2017, Afghanistan were the superior sides but recent form and more experience makes West Indies the favourites on Thursday. Afghanistan toppled the former two-time world champions in the qualifiers showing the world they deserved to be at World Cup. But unfortunately, the only things one can recall about the Afghans in England are mere controversies and inner-conflicts.

 

The sudden change in captainship coinciding with the abrupt injury of wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad and differences between the cricket board and head coach Phil Simmons has pitted the associate nation in poor light. Poor forms of some of their important players also haven’t helped.

The West Indies have surprisingly had no such issues in this edition of the World Cup. With young players in their side, who prefer country more than franchise leagues, and experiences of the returning heroes made this World Cup a great opportunity to reclaim lost soil. They almost had everyone thinking that would do so with the dominant victory over Pakistan and a fighting performance against Australia. But giving up winning positions in most matches meant they head back home with just three points and potentially another two.

Both sides will aim to sign off from CWC 2019 with a victory. But the Headingley ground, as seen in Pakistan vs Afghanistan game, shits spinners more. The trio of Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur-Rahman and Rashid Khan will hope to give their side a taste of victory before they bid goodbye.

Afghanistan Probable XI: Gulbadin Naib (c), Rahmat Shah,  Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 04, 2019 02:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).