There's something quietly deceptive about
New Zealand heading into a World Cup fixture against
Afghanistan. On paper, they've been in form: four wins from five T20s in late January, piling on runs with a kind of attacking freedom that suggests they've found their best tempo in the format. But look closer and you'll notice the opposition columns of those recent results appear oddly uniform—internal trial matches, intra-squad contests, the sort of warm-up cricket that flatters without interrogating. It's hard to ignore that
New Zealand haven't faced an actual opponent in T20 cricket for months, and while rhythm matters, so does resistance.
Afghanistan, by contrast, have been playing actual cricket. Their recent record is patchier—two wins from three in a T20 series in January, a warm-up victory in early February—but they've been tested against live opponents, dealing with conditions that shift and bowlers who bowl with intent rather than familiarity. What stands out to me is their ability to impose themselves with the ball. They possess one of the more varied spin attacks in world cricket, and if this pitch in
New Zealand offers even a hint of turn or grip, they'll ask questions that can't be answered with mere form alone.
New Zealand will likely depend on their batting depth and home familiarity. The batting has clicked recently, even in controlled environments, and that fluency is worth something. Still, the absence of real competitive pressure in the lead-up is a quiet concern.
Afghanistan have a way of disrupting rhythm, of slowing the game down through spin and making sides work for every boundary. In a way, this is the kind of fixture where confidence can betray preparation.
It's a match that could easily tilt either way depending on how
New Zealand's top order responds to early pressure. If they can absorb
Afghanistan's opening spell and find their natural tempo, they should have enough firepower. But
Afghanistan are never as far away from a win as their rank might suggest. They've proven that before.
New Zealand ought to have the balance here, but it's the kind of ought that comes with a footnote, not a full stop.
