Pakistan and Afghanistan will play their respective fifth match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai today.
Despite losing matches against India and Australia, Pakistan are currently lying at fifth position in the league table with a net run-rate of -0.456.Captain Babar Azam will be hoping that the side can bring their A-game to the table in this must-win game.
On the other hand, Afghanistan were completely outplayed by New Zealand in all three departments. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi will be hoping that the side can put in an improved performance with bat and ball against Pakistan.
In 2019 ICC World Cup played at Leeds, Pakistan managed to pull off a hard-fought win over Afghanistan.
The Green Shirts will make two changes to their playing XI as Shadab Khan and Mohammad Wasim will replace Usama Mir and Mohammad Nawaz for this contest.
In the batting department, the side will be depending on the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, skipper Babar Azam, rookie Saud Shakeel and power-hitter Iftikhar Ahmed to deliver the bulk of the runs.
In the previous match, Imam-Ul-Haq showcased decent form with the bat for Pakistan and finished the innings with the top-score of 70 runs off 71 balls with the help of ten boundaries. His opening partner, Abdullah Shafique, who scored a fluent 64 off 61 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes.Besides Imam and Abdullah, Mohammad Rizwan scored 46 runs off 40 balls with the help of five boundaries.
In the bowling department, the side will be depending on the likes of Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim and Hasan Ali to provide timely breakthroughs.
In the previous match, pacer Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan and claimed 5 for 54 in his ten overs.
Besides Shaheen, Haris Rauf has conceded 83 runs and picked up three wickets in his eight overs.
In the batting department, the side will be depending on the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, wicket-keeper Ikram Alikhil and Rahmat Shah to provide the bulk of the runs.
With 159 runs at an average of 39.75, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has topped the batting charts for Pakistan so far this season.
In the bowling department, the side will be depending on the likes of Naveen-Ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Fazalhaq Farooqi to deliver timely breakthroughs.
With six wickets at an average of 30.83, Leg-spinner Rashid is currently leading wicket-taker for Afghanistan so far in this competition.
Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz/Mohammad Wasim Jnr., Usama Mir/Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.
Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi