New Zealand vs Afghanistan Prediction: Underdogs could catch Black Caps cold

New Zealand are the only team to have reached a World T20 final but never won the tournament, so they will begin their 2024 campaign looking to improve on their runner-up finish in 2021.

The Black Caps are playing their first game of the tournament, but opponents Afghanistan already have points on the board after a thumping 125-run win over Uganda in their opening Group C match.

They have never reached the semi-finals of this competition but will be looking to claim a high-profile scalp after their impressive first performance.

Team News

New Zealand will be missing pacemen Adam Milne and Kyle Jamieson due to injuries, while Finn Allen looks to be the key man in their batting line-up this time around.

Afghanistan are unlikely to make any changes after their impressive start to the competition and have no injury concerns heading into their second match.

New Zealand vs Afghanistan Odds

New Zealand are the favourites at 4/9 to open their campaign with a win, but Afghanistan are being given plenty of respect with match odds of 9/5.

Devon Conway and Kane Williamson are joint 3/1 favourites to be New Zealand's top run scorer, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the 12/5 favourite to be the highest scorer for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan to win @ 9/5

New Zealand are rightly expected to go further in the tournament than Afghanistan, but the underdogs are catching them at exactly the right time for an upset and look worth a bet to cause a minor shock.

Conditions in the Caribbean are taking teams a while to get used to and Afghanistan's experience of having already played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana should stand them in good stead.

The Afghans not only played there, they found the pitch right up their street as they skittled out Uganda for just 58 runs after blasting an impressive 183-5 in their own innings.

Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran did most of the damage, putting on 154 for the first wicket, with Gurbaz finishing on 76 and Zadran making 70.

Uganda never established a foothold in their reply as they crumbled to 18-5 as Afghanistan opening bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi took five wickets for just nine runs.

New Zealand are a vastly stronger side than Uganda, but their own form has not been great with a 3-0 defeat to Australia and a 2-2 draw with Pakistan in their last two T20 series.

They could be vulnerable coming off the plane cold against a side with valuable experience of the venue.

Naveen-ul-Haq top Afghanistan wicket-taker @ 18/5

While Fazalhaq Farooqi rightly claimed the headlines for Afghanistan in their first match, the opening bowler faces a stiff challenge against the Kiwi top order and it could pay to look elsewhere for their top wicket-taker this time.

Naveen-ul-Haq, coming on as first-change bowler, proved equally effective in the opener, mopping up two wickets for just four runs in his two overs, and he looks a good-value option at 18/5 to be the team's top wicket-taker this time.

The 24-year-old is battle-hardened at a high level having recently played for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, taking 14 wickets in 10 matches and the right-armer could prove a threat to the potentially rusty Black Caps in their first match.

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