(Cricket news) The neighbouring countries will battle it out with each other knowing a victory would help consolidate their positions in the group and make their passage to the semis easier. Pakistan have come into the tournament with a different passion and vigour to win this year's World Cup but on the other hand Afghanistan are step by step growing into a cricket powerhouse and will be looking to cause an upset.
For Afghanistan, a lot will ride on the openers Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad to give them a positive start upfront, in the last match we saw how destructive these two can be if they get going. Afghanistan need to utilise the big grounds in Dubai by converting ones into twos as the openers may not be great runners, so a lot of onus will fall on Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zardan to test the Pakistan fielders in the field. Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi will hold key for Afghanistan, they need to introduce spin from the get go as Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan both look in ominous form and can easily take the game away from them if they get settled. The Afghanistan batters need to be wary of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf’s pace, both look in sublime form like we saw against India and New Zealand.
Pakistan are favourites not only to qualify for the semifinals but also top the group, they have beaten their two main rivals and will be hoping to take one more step closer to qualification with a win over Afghanistan. The task at hand is not so easy for Babar Azam and co as the Afghanis with their dangerous spin trio and opening batsman can beat any team on their given day, it will be key for Pakistan to not lose focus and win their remaining matches. Pakistan need to be wary of how they use Imad Wasim, given Zazai form, prowess and also being a left hander will make it difficult for him. Babar Azam and Rizwan will be crucial for Pakistan to lay a good foundation for a somewhat fragile middle order, but the main strength for Pakistan lies in the strength in depth like we saw against New Zealand.
Head to head: Pakistan 1 – 0 Afghanistan, they have played only one T20 in 2013 where Pakistan won the match by 6 wickets.
Pitch and weather report: The trend of winning the toss and batting first might continue but however Afghanistan over the last few matches have had tremendous success batting first, winning 20 of 24 matches since the last T20. Spinners will again be crucial with the old ball as the fast bowlers might get some pace from the pitch early on. The temperature is going to hover around 32 to 34 degrees as dew may be a deciding factor on this pitch, as of now there is no chance of rain.
Interesting facts:
- Pakistan have a good record in T20Is in UAE, winning 24 of the 38 matches, Afghanistan have it even better – winning 27 of the 34 matches in the country.
- Mohammad Hafeez is the only player to play against Afghanistan in T20s
- Rashid Khan needs one wicket to reach 100 T20 wickets
- Mohammad Shahzad needs 42 runs to reach 2000 T20 runs and become the first Afghanistan player to do so
- Rashid Khan has taken 61 wickets in T20s this year
Also read: David Warner heroics guide Australia to a 7 wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup
Probable XI for Afghanistan:
1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 3 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Asghar Afghan 7, Gulbadin Naib, 8 Karim Jannat, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Probable XI for Pakistan:
1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
