Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand on Sunday

In a Twenty20 World Cup clash that could decide the remaining semi-finalist from Group 2. A win for New Zealand in Abu Dhabi would take them into the final four but if they lose it would benefit Afghanistan and India, who have got the best run-rate in the group and play Namibia in their last match on Monday.

Afghanistan made one change from their loss to India with fit-again spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman back in the XI.

“It’s a day game, so we want to post a decent total on the board,” said Nabi.

With a billion Indians praying for an Afghanistan victory, Nabi insisted his side will “try to win” the match for themselves.

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New Zealand are unchanged from their previous victory that was their third in a row after their opening loss to Pakistan, who are already through to the semi-finals from this group.

“We were going to have a bat as well, it’s a used surface,” captain Kane Williamson said at the toss.

“I think both sides have match winners and it’s a mix of youth and experience.”

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England and Australia have booked their semi-finals spot from Group 1.

Teams

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (capt), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boul

Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Langton Rusere (ZIM)

TV Umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)

Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

AFP