Prior to commencing their training at Wankhede Stadium, Afghanistan’s players gathered in a circle, where they had a 20-minute discussion with Sachin Tendulkar.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first. Due to ongoing vertigo issues with Steve Smith, Australia made two changes to their lineup, with Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh replacing Steve Smith and Cameron Green.
Here is the playing XI:
Australia:
- Travis Head
- David Warner
- Mitchell Marsh
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper)
- Glenn Maxwell
- Marcus Stoinis
- Pat Cummins (captain)
- Mitchell Starc
- Adam Zampa
- Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan:
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
- Ibrahim Zadran
- Rahmat Shah
- Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain)
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Mohammad Nabi
- Ikram Ali Khil (wicketkeeper)
- Rashid Khan
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman
- Naveen-ul-Haq
This match is expected to be a high-scoring one as the previous three matches at Wankhede Stadium saw first-inning totals of 399, 382, and 357.
After 6 overs, Afghanistan’s score is 30/0. For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood started the bowling. Starc bowled a maiden, while Hazlewood gave away a few runs.
In the 8th over, Hazlewood dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 21 runs, taking the first wicket. Rahmat Shah is the new batsman.
After 10 overs, Afghanistan’s score is 46/1. Ibrahim Zadran played a lofted shot over the cover fielder for a double. Captain Pat Cummins came to bowl and gave away five runs in his over.
In the 11th over, Glenn Maxwell hit two singles, and Ibrahim Zadran opened the face of the bat and placed a shot between point fielders for a boundary.
After 12 overs, AFG has scored 57 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. Cummins bowled a tight over, giving away only 2 runs
Maxwell’s over in the 13th saw just four singles. While Afghanistan wasn’t scoring quickly, they were content because they were avoiding losing wickets.
In the 14th over, Cummins started with a dot, but the following ball was short, and Ibrahim hit it over the keeper’s head for a FOUR. The over resulted in seven runs.
AFG was at 73/1 after 15 overs, as Adam Zampa replaced Maxwell. The over yielded two singles, a good start by Zampa, with just five singles given away.
In the 16th over, AFG scored 76/1 with Starc coming in for Cummins and only three runs conceded