The Pakistan cricket team will play its third match of the Super 12 stage in the ICC T20 World Cup against Afghanistan at the Dubai International Stadium today (Friday). Both teams, so far undefeated, eye to reserve their berth in the semi-finals of the world’s biggest tournament.
A weekend capacity crowd is expected from amongst the huge population of both nations who reside and work in the Gulf.
With two early wins, Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are quite high. However, given the conditions in the UAE and Afghanistan’s performances so far, Afghanistan is also considered a dangerous side.
Pakistan thrashed India well in the first match, beating the team by 10 wickets. They also easily defeated and outshined the Kiwis in their second match.
Afghanistan has emerged as a dangerous side in the tournament as in their warm-up match, they easily defeated defending champions West Indies. They also beat Scotland by a huge margin of 130 runs in the Group Two match.
In bowling, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman will give a tough time to the batsmen of the opposing team, while Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shehzad and Asghar Afghan are in good form for batting performances.
The Green Shirts have also paved their way to reach the semi-finals with their convincing wins against India and New Zealand. Their bowlers and batsmen are both in good form. The morale of the players is high, but the Afghan team can no longer be called weak opponents. Whenever these two teams are face to face, an interesting match is a sure result.
The two teams played a thrilling match in World Cup 2019. Pakistan won it by three wickets.
The match between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be played at Dubai Cricket Stadium at 7pm today.
Pakistan will play Afghanistan with champions’ mindset: Mushtaq
Appreciating Afghanistan’s spinning potential, Pakistan’s temporary head coach Saqlain Mushtaq declared that his team has “the mindset of champions”.
“We know Afghanistan is a very good team but our plans are well-placed and we need to execute those plans as we have done in the first two games,” Mushtaq said, addressing a press conference in Dubai.
The interim coach further said that T20 is a game in which one should expect highs and lows.
He said it is not easy to score big on pitches, as one has to be technically strong while playing on such fields.
“Rashid and Mujeeb are quality spinners. They have been doing well for their team as well as in the private leagues around the world. But, we have plans against them,” said Mushtaq.
Speaking about changes in the batting order, he said: “The entire team is playing well. We are happy with this combination.”
“We are not thinking of removing Fakhar Zaman from one down. He played well in [the] warm-up matches.”
Mushtaq pointed out that Pakistan have played most of their cricket in recent years in the UAE.
“These conditions of the UAE are very familiar for my players. We have been playing home international matches and Pakistan Super League games here and that has, and will, help our players.”
Pakistan will play Namibia on November 2 and Scotland five days later in the Super 12 stage.
