AFG vs PAK Match Preview
Mohammad Nabi, who was recalled to the international side after a hiatus of almost 5 months, put up a brilliant all-round performance, picking up 2 wickets and playing a match-winning knock of 38 runs. The team will surely expect him to put up a similar performance here.
It was a very disciplined bowling performance from Afghanistan, as each of the 6 bowlers used by Rashid picked up at least one wicket. They put up a chokehold on the Pakistan batting to limit them to their 5th lowest T20 total ever. However, the batsmen will need to step up in this match as except for Nabi, none of the top or middle-order batsmen managed to put up a convincing display.
The pitch was challenging to bat on but Nabi showed that if you stick to the basics, it wasn’t impossible to score. The team has a lot of depth in their batting thanks to the presence of Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, and Najibullah Zadran.
After opting to bat first, Pakistan could manage to score only 92 runs for the loss of 9 wickets on a tricky pitch which was quite helpful to the bowlers. None of the Pakistan batsmen could cross the 20-run mark as they lost wickets with frightening consistency.
Saim Ayub, who was brilliant in the recently concluded PSL, fell for just 17 runs, while the other PSL stars, including Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Haris, and Azam Khan too failed to impress. The performance of these batsmen exposes the perils of producing flat and lifeless pitches for domestic tournaments, which heavily tilt the balance in favor of the batsmen.
Ihsanullah had a dream international T20 debut as he picked up 2 wickets in his first 3 deliveries, but that wasn’t nearly enough to derail the chase. Pakistan has a strong pace attack in the form of Naseem Shah, Ihsanullah, and Zaman Khan, and will be hoping that they do a better job with the ball here.
Imad Wasim and skipper Shadab Khan will be the key players for Pakistan.
Weather Report
The weather will be largely clear with temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
The surface at Sharjah is generally considered good for batting and has produced quite a few high-scoring encounters in the past. However, on this occasion, the pitch is much slower and the ball stops on the batsmen. The lack of pace will make it difficult for the batsmen to play big shots right from the word go and anything over 150 will be difficult to chase here.
Notable stats
Imad Wasim's All-Round Performance
Imad Wasim is one of the most consistent all-rounders that Pakistan has produced in recent times, especially in the shortest format of the game. He has scored 3021 runs in T20 matches at an average of 21.12 and has also picked up 261 wickets.
Team News
There are no updates regarding injuries from either side.
AFG vs PAK Probable 11
AFG Playing 11
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk)
- Ibrahim Zadran
- Karim Janat
- Mohammad Nabi
- Rashid Khan (C)
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Najibullah Zadran
- Gulbadin Naib
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman
- Fazalhaq Farooqi
- Naveen ul-Haq
PAK Playing 11
- Saim Ayub
- Mohammad Haris
- Abdullah Shafique
- Azam Khan (Wk)
- Shadab Khan (C)
- Imad Wasim
- Faheem Ashraf
- Tayyab Tahir
- Ihsanullah
- Zaman Khan
- Naseem Shah
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing Pakistan to win here. They have some quality players on the team, including Saim Ayub and Azam Khan. The presence of Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan adds depth to the batting while Ihsanullah, Zaman Khan, and Naseem Shah make up for a formidable pace attack.
Top Picks
Rashid Khan: Rashid Khan is one of the most reliable bowlers in T20 cricket and can also use the bat to good effect. He has picked up a whopping 526 wickets in his T20 career and scored 1916 runs at a strike rate of 142.24.
Mohammad Nabi: Nabi is a reliable finisher for Afghanistan and is also an excellent off-spinner. He has scored 1724 runs in his international T20 career and has also picked up 86 wickets.
Shadab Khan: Shadab Khan is a big turner of the ball and can be quite effective on the slow pitch at Sharjah. He has picked up 98 wickets in his international T20 career and can also bat a bit lower down the order.
AFG vs PAK Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: A Khan, M Haris
Batters: Najibullah-Zadran, S Ayub
All-rounders: M Nabi (VC), I Wasim (C), S Khan, A Omarzai, Rashid-Khan
Bowlers: Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Ihsanullah
