ABU DHABI: New Zealand are aware of the threat posed by Afghanistan’s spin attack, but the Black Caps are confident of sealing a semi-final spot in the Twenty20 World Cup with a win in Abu Dhabi, leg-spinner Ish Sodhi said on Saturday.

A win in their final Super 12 match on Sunday will see New Zealand join Pakistan in the last four from Group Two, sending pre-tournament favourites India out of the competition.

“We see it as another game,” Sodhi told reporters. “We’ve approached almost every game like that so far and hopefully we can do the same tomorrow. Be really clear on what’s been working really well for us.”

Afghanistan’s three-pronged spin attack of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have shown they have the ability to turn any game in their favour, and Sodhi said “that’s definitely where their threat lies”.

“I’m sure all the batsmen during the scouting meeting have taken it into consideration, as well as the threat they bring with the bat,” Sodhi said.

“I know we spoke about it in depth this [Saturday] morning with our scouting and things like that. So hopefully we can put together some good performances tomorrow.”

Sodhi’s place in the team on Sunday looked in some doubt after taking a nasty blow to the head, attempting a caught and bowled off David Wiese in Friday’s 52-run win against Namibia.

However, after taking a head injury assessment, Sodhi is confident he will play on Sunday.

“It would have been nice to catch the ball. Once he ran, saw that I was alright, reminded me that I dropped the catch. But it’s good,” he said. “A bit of a knock to the head. A bit of a headache. Initially it was a bit of shock. But thankfully over the past 24 hours there’s been no issues so far.”

Afghanistan can still make the semi-finals but they need to beat New Zealand and if India beat Namibia on Monday, the semi-final place will come down to run rates.

“We only focus on ourselves, our team,” Shahidi said. “Our main focus is how to qualify for the semi-finals ... and we’ll do our best.”

Shahidi could not confirm if off-spinner Mujeeb, who missed the last two matches against India and Namibia due to injury, will be fit to face New Zealand.

“Our spinners are really good, especially in these conditions,” said Shahidi. “We have played a lot of cricket here and we have the benefits. But against the big teams, we need to bat well, too. Batsmen should take more responsibility.”

Afghanistan got their Super 12 campaign off to a flying start with a 130-run mauling of Scotland.

A five-wicket loss to group winners Pakistan was followed by a 62-run victory against Namibia.

However, their last-four hopes suffered a serious blow when India piled up 210-2 for a 66-run triumph in Abu Dhabi.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2021