Afghan challenge today in front of Pakistan, who have lost two matches in a row in the current World Cup. Pakistan will face Afghanistan today in their fifth match.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan match will start at 2:30 PM Bangladesh time at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In this World Cup, Pakistan started flying by winning two matches in a row. But then there is a fall in rhythm. After winning two matches in a row, Babar Azam had to see both sides of the coin, losing two matches in a row.
In their third match, Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India by a huge margin of 7 wickets. As a result, Babar Azmara was hit by the words of the former cricketers of the two countries as well as the fans.
Pakistan was aiming to win against Australia to forget the bad memory of the loss to India. But due to the failure of the bowlers, they had to lose to Australia by 62 runs. Pakistan’s points tally is four with two wins and two losses from four matches played so far. Their position in the table is fifth. If they want to survive in the semi-finals race, they need a win against the Afghans.
Pakistan will want to enter the field today with their best eleven to survive in the semi-final fight. But unfortunately, Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out due to a knee injury. This will see the team’s opening combination of Abdullah Shafiq and Imam-ul-Haq. Both Imam and Abdullah will aim to continue their excellent batting form as openers.
At number three, all eyes will be on Pakistan captain Babar Azam. The team’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan will play at number four. Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed are still living in five-six. Cricket Pakistan said that Usama Mir, who scored 82 runs in 9 overs against Australia, may get another chance today.
Team Pakistan may bring back Shadab Khan in place of Mohammad Nawaz, who was wicketless in the last two matches against Australia and India. Apart from this, Pakistan’s pace attack will consist of Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali. Pakistan Probable XI: Abdullah Shafiq, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz/Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi.
(23 October/NBW)