T20 WC 2021: PAK vs AFG Preview – High-flying Pakistan confront gutsy Afghans

Afghanistan and Pakistan are set to face each other in the second game of the day in the T20 World Cup 2021. Pakistan are playing on completely another level in the tournament. The Babar Azam-led side trumped India by 10 wickets to start their campaign in style and then kept their nerves against New Zealand to win a close game. They would love to make it a hat-trick of wins with a win over Afghanistan.

Mohammad Nabi and his men also impressed in their opening game against Scotland. Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan spun a web around Scotland to share nine wickets between them. Their batters also played freely to post a big total in that game. But given Pakistan’s bowling ability, they will have to work hard to graft runs in this game. Surely, it will be a hard-fought match.

Match Details

Match 24 – Afghanistan vs Pakistan

Venue – Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

Time – 7:30 PM IST

Head to Head

Afghanistan and Pakistan haven’t met in the T20 World Cup before.

Team news

Afghanistan

Afghanistan got off to a perfect start to their World Cup campaign with a thumping win over Scotland. Unless there are any injuries, they won’t be changing the winning combination. The openers though should be aware of Shaheen Afridi’s new ball skills and pace and make sure that there is no collapse upfront. A good start with the bat and ball, whatever they are doing first, will definitely give Afghanistan confidence to come good in this match.

Pakistan

There is no reason for Pakistan to make changes to their playing XI. They have played two perfect games, however, the misfiring middle-order will be a concern for them. Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez didn’t score much and in case they lose Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan fall early, Pakistan might come under a lot of pressure. They will hope to fill this hole as soon as possible. They will go unchanged in this game with the bowling attack firing with all guns blazing.

Probable XI