Afghanistan vs Scotland, 17th Match, Pool A - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

On paper, the 17th match of the 2015 ICC World Cup appears little more than a battle for bragging rights between two of the tournament's less-fancied teams. Neither Scotland or Afghanistan are expected to make it to the quarter-finals, but considering the ICC's plan to shrink the World Cup to ten teams in 2019 and the reduction of opportunities for Associate nations to improve at the highest level, making as many ticks in the W column is of utmost importance to them.

At every juncture of Scotland's World Cup campaign, Preston Mommsen has found himself defending his team's position as minnows. He has spoken of how they have nothing to prove because they won matches to qualify for the World Cup, but equally he has emphasised the importance of taking points home because of the make-up of the 2019 tournament. Scotland and Afghanistan have needed to win every match because there is so much riding on the success of the Associates.

Scotland have lost both their matches, to New Zealand by three wickets and England by 119 runs, while Afghanistan lost to Bangladesh by 105 runs and Sri Lanka by four wickets. Yet both teams will know that victories were close in one each of their previous games, and that with a bit more runs, they could beat Full Member teams. Right here in Dunedin, Scotland had New Zealand seven wickets down chasing 143 and Afghanistan reduced Sri Lanka to 51 for 5 and then 178 for 6 when defending 233. More is needed, and the two sides should know just what that is.

Scotland lost the wickets of Matt Machan and Peter Mommsen in quick succession to be in a spot of bother. Machan was outfoxed by a tossed up delivery from Nabi and found his off stump pegged back, while the Scotland skipper could only edge behind an away-swinger from Naib. Scotland were left reeling at 95/5 and will need a big knock from one of their lower order batsmen.

Afghanistan won the toss and have opted to chase.

Pitch Report: 'It could just be a little bit tricky for the batsmen, how they manage the off-stump channel. But it looks more Scottish kind of conditions than Afghanistan because there is a lot of grass cover. Having said that, you can still score runs provided that you are disciplined, provided that you see off the new ball. The first 10 overs are going to be critical because there are patches of green, there is a thick layer of grass which must be alien to an Afghanistan cricketer. The average score is 240-250, you should be looking to target that', reckons Rameez Raja.

Captain Comments:

Nabi: 'The boys performed well in the last game and hopefully we can perform well in this game as well because the pitch is very good for fast bowling. We will bowl first. It is a totally fresh wicket and we will look to put pressure on the Scotland guys. We have a good fast bowling unit. In the pratice session they were looking good and we will try to perform well in this game. Everyone is watching this, watching every game. In Afghanistan it is 2:30 in the night, but everyone is watching the game.'

Mommsen: 'I think the first two games, England and New Zealand have put us in a better place. We have played a lot of cricket against Afghanistan and hopefully that will work for us today. We need to put the runs on the board. The wicket won't change much and will remain the same.'