T20 World Cup 2021: Big Boost For New Zealand Ahead Of Their Final Group Match Against Afghanistan 

New Zealand have been given a major boost that Ish Sodhi is cleared to play their final Super 12 match with Afghanistan after a concussion scare as he suffered a blow on his head during the last game against Namibia.

A powerful shot from Namibia’s David Wiese travelled straight towards the bowler, Ish Sodhi. However, he was fortunate in a way that his forearm got in the way, and the ball struck the forearm first before hitting him on the head.

The leg-spinner revealed that he has passed the concussion test and is ready to play the Afghanistan match on Sunday.

“Thankfully it wasn’t too bad – unfortunately I dropped the catch when it burst through my hands, which lightened the blow a little bit.

“I definitely woke up with a bit of a headache, but all the procedures in place have been taken and team doctor Dr John Cameron has ruled out the chance of concussion, which is great,” Ish Sodhi told stuff.co.nz.

“Once everyone saw that I was alright, they reminded me that I dropped the catch. Bit of a knock to the head, bit of a headache initially, but thankfully the past 24 hours there has been no issues so far.”

Ish Sodhi has been in terrific form in the T20 World Cup. He has taken 7 wickets in 4 matches – including a Man of the Match performance versus India of 2/17 – at an economy of 7.27.

New Zealand face Afghanistan in a must-win game

It has all come down to the last couple of days of the Super 12 stage for India (4 points), New Zealand (6 points), and Afghanistan (4 points), and one of them will join Pakistan as the second team to reach the semi-finals from Group 2. India have the best net run rate of these three teams, while New Zealand have the worst.

New Zealand and Afghanistan will clash on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. The equation for the Kiwis is simple: defeat Afghanistan and proceed to the semi-final while a loss will send them home.

For Afghanistan to qualify for the semis, they have to defeat New Zealand by a big margin so as to haul over India’s net run rate.

Virat Kohli and co. are hoping for Afghanistan to come out trumps against the Black Caps. India’s last game is against Namibia on Monday, and if Afghanistan manage to defeat New Zealand, India would know exactly the situation regarding the net run rate.

Also Read: There Is Pressure On Afghanistan-New Zealand After India’s Rising Net Run Rate: Sunil Gavaskar