Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of the Afghanistan vs New Zealand one-off Test being played at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida.
PREVIEWAfghanistan will be featuring in its 10th Test match in six years, and it will be for the first time that the Asian nation will play a red-ball fixture against New Zealand, which also returns to the format after a six-month gap.
Ever since their arrival, both teams have been greeted by incessant rain and soggy outfields. That’s not all, doubts remain on how the wicket will hold up during the course of the game.
“Conditions are foreign to what we are used to, but we are excited about the chance of playing six Test matches on the bounce here in the sub-continent,” said Tim Southee, the New Zealand captain.
For the visiting team, this game is more of a preparatory outing ahead of five Tests against Sri Lanka and India respectively.
While the batting will revolve around Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra, a lot will depend on how the spin department fares under Ajaz Patel, who returns to India for the first time since his 10-wicket haul in Mumbai in 2021.
However, with rain and moderate thunderstorms forecast for the next few days, doubt remains on whether it would be possible to have a full-fledged game.
READ FULL PREVIEW | Rain threatens to be spoilsport as Afghanistan takes on New Zealand in one-off Test
