Pakistan are in the driving seat of the match after its bowlers did the trick once again, with Imad Wasim and Shaheen Afridi dismissing both Afghanistan openers inside the first three overs.
Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan.
Skipper Babar Azam and the rest of the Pakistan squad have played good cricket till now in the ICC T20 World Cup. However, the Men in Green will have their hands full today (Friday) when they try to tackle Afghanistan’s spin bowlers.
Pakistan head into the match confident after securing wins against heavyweights India and New Zealand from their first two games.
With two early wins, Pakistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are bright. However, given the conditions in the United Arab Emirates (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 the Kiwis in their second match.
Afghanistan have 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.
Saqlain stresses on executing plans
A day earlier, interim head coach Saqlain Mushtaq “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 and 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.”