Afghanistan and New Zealand to play first-ever Test match in India later this year: Report

Afghanistan will host a Test match against New Zealand later this year. The two teams have never met in the longest format of the game and if the reports are true, cricket fans are going to witness a historic moment. As per the reports, the two will lock horns in September 2024 and interestingly, the match will be held in India.

A Times of India report says that the match between the Asian side and the inaugural World Test Champions will be a one-off Test and will be played at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida. Recently, in a significant development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have permitted Afghanistan to host its matches in India after a gap of four years. 

This will be the first time since March 2021 that Afghanistan will play a Test match in Greater Noida. It is noteworthy that Cricket Australia has banned its players from playing bilateral series against Afghanistan in any format since the Taliban imposed restrictions on females’ participation in sports in 2021. However, New Zealand seems to have no issues in playing.

Can Afghanistan stun Black Caps in red-ball cricket?

Afghanistan have had their best-ever T20 World Cup campaign this year. For the first time in their history, they entered the semi-finals of the marquee event. On their way to achieving the milestone moment, the Asian team defeated giants like New Zealand and Australia.

Rashid Khan and Co. had won comprehensively against the Black Caps by 84 runs. Batting first, Afghanistan posted 159-6 on the back of Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s brilliant 80 off 56. A four-wicket performance by their skipper and pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi crushed the Kiwi batters as they were bowled out for a paltry 75 runs in 15.2 overs. 

New Zealand are currently fifth in the updated ICC Test rankings. Afghanistan, on the other hand, is ranked 12th. The visitors are well aware of the Afghan spin attack and will not take them lightly after their humiliating defeat in the World Cup.