New Zealand vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup 2021: Toss result and playing 11s, today's match umpires list and pitch report

New Zealand take on Afghanistan in Match 40 of the T20 World Cup 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. The game will be significant not only for the two participating teams but for India as well.

The future of Virat Kohli and co. in the tournament will depend heavily on the result of the New Zealand-Afghanistan clash.

If the Kiwis defeat Afghanistan in the match on Sunday, it will be goodbye for both India and Afghanistan as New Zealand will progress to the semi-finals with eight points. Even if India defeat Namibia by a comprehensive margin on Monday, they will still end up on six points.

On the other hand, if Afghanistan can upset New Zealand and India beat Namibia, it will be a three-way tussle for the semi-final battle. In this case, Afghanistan, New Zealand and India will all finish on six points and the team with the better net run rate will progress to the semis.

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NZ vs AFG - Today's match playing 11s

NZ playing 11: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (w), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult

AFG playing 11: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi (c), Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

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NZ vs AFG - Today's match opening batters list

Daryl Mitchell and Martin Guptill have looked in good touch for New Zealand. They will be expected to get the team off to a solid start.

Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad both failed against India. Can they rise to the New Zealand challenge?

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NZ vs AFG - Today's match pitch report

The wicket is expected to be a slow one. The match will be played on the same surface used for Saturday’s encounter between Australia and West Indies. There are a few cracks so batters might find it a tad challenging.

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NZ vs AFG - Today's T20 World Cup match umpires

On-field Umpires: Langton Rusere, Kumar Dharmasena

Third Umpire: Richard Illingworth

Match Referee: Javagal Srinath

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NZ vs AFG T20 World Cup toss result for today's match

Afghanistan have won the toss and have opted to bat first. The big news from the Afghanistan camp is that Mujeeb Ur Rahman is back in the side, with Sharafuddin Ashraf missing out.

Speaking after winning the toss, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said:

"We will bat first. It was a night game in Abu Dhabi (against India), so we bowled first considering the dew factor. It's a day game here, so we want to post a decent total on the board."

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted they would have batted first as well. The Kiwis are going in with an unchanged XI.