Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka and the Netherlands to open the World Cup, but the 1992 winners lost consecutively to Australia and India. With the top four moving on to the semifinals, they have dropped to fifth place in the 10-nation standings.
Imam-ul-Haq, the opening batsman for Pakistan, conceded on Sunday that his team did not perform well in those matches. “We didn’t perform well and execute our plan correctly, and losing always depresses us.”
At a field that is known as a slow bowlers’ heaven, Haq also downplayed the threat presented by Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan.
“They have good spin bowlers, and we know this ground favours spinners, but we beat them 3-0 in a one-day series we recently played in Sri Lanka under similar conditions,” Haq said.
“We are prepared for Afghanistan’s tough conditions and know they are a strong team. We will carry out our plans.”
In the Cricket World Cup, Afghanistan surprised everyone by defeating the defending champions, England, but they have also suffered three losses.
Afghanistan’s coach Jonathan Trott stated on Sunday that his team is excited about their rivalry with Pakistan.
“I believe there has historically been a fierce rivalry between them,” he remarked.
We’ve also played several pretty close games. I hope tomorrow isn’t too spectacular and we come out on top. I should clarify that it’s merely the nature of the rivalry.
“I think both teams respect each other, but they are very desperate to win,” he continued.
Predicted Xis
- Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (C), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.
- Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq.
Head to head
Afghanistan are yet to beat Pakistan in one-day international cricket, with Pakistan winning all seven encounters between the two countries.
- February 10, 2012: Sharjah – Pakistan won by 7 wickets
- February 27, 2014: Fatullah – Pakistan won by 72 runs
- September 21, 2018: Abu Dhabi – Pakistan won by 3 wickets
- June 29, 2019: Leeds – Pakistan won by 3 wickets
- August 22, 2023: Hambantota – Pakistan won by 142 runs
- August 24, 2023: Hambantota – Pakistan won by 1 wicket
- August 26, 2023: Colombo – Pakistan won by 59 runs
