Pakistan and Afghanistan will play each other in the 1st game of the tri-series on 29th August at Sharjah.
Match Preview:
Pakistan and Afghanistan set to renew their rivalry in the format as the sides will face each other for the first time in almost 2 years. The last time both teams featured against each other was in 2023.
Talking about Pakistan, they are coming with a series win against West Indies, winning the series by 2-1. Pakistan is pretty much carrying the same squad for both Tri-nation series and Asia Cup.
In batting, Pakistan will rely on openers like Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, and Sahibzada Farhan. Meanwhile, batters like Hasan Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf will have a key role to play down the order. Nevertheless, the main challenge will be to bat against spin as Afghanistan holds a heavy spin-attack.
In bowling, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf will lead the pace attack with Mohammad Wasim and Hasan Ali bolstering the possibilities. Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed will lead the spin, but they will be put to the test by Afghanistan’s hitters.
The spin combination of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, and Noor Ahmad will be crucial for Afghanistan to control Sharjah’s turning tracks. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are in charge of providing the team with strong starts, while Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq help out the seams.
Gulbadin Naib and Muhammad Nabi provide middle-field experience, but a lot relies on the top order’s ability to score competitively.
Up to 16 of the 17 players in Afghanistan’s lineup are also in their 2025 Asia Cup team. Afghanistan’s series against Zimbabwe in December of last year was their final Twenty25 Twenty20 International appearance.
However, Pakistan has had a great deal of cricket activity. Following their disappointing 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, they have participated in seven T20I series, but they have only been able to win three of them.
In the Asia Cup, Afghanistan and Pakistan are paired together in Group B. Before the eight-team competition starts, the forthcoming triangular series will be the ideal way to see how these teams compare to one another in the shortest format.
Probable Playing XI:
Afghanistan (predicted playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq
Pakistan (predicted playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Pitch and weather report:
Sharjah’s batters have always benefited from the ground’s dimensions. Although it is anticipated that batting would improve as the game goes on, the pitch has been double-paced multiple times in the past, which may force the use of spinners.
Head-to-head record:
Pakistan and Afghanistan will face off in a T20I for the first time since October 2023. All in all, Pakistan and Afghanistan have faced each other in seven games in total with the former winning 4 while latter getting success in 3.
Prediction:
Given the spin attack and Sharjah pitch, Afghanistan is favourite to win the upcoming match of the tri series.
Where to watch:
MENA – Cricbuzz and Sportainment
Pakistan – A-Sports, Ten Sports and Tamasha.
Afghanistan – Lemar.tv
Bangladesh – tapmad and TSports
India – Fancode and Euro Sport
North America – Willow
UK – ARY
Africa – Supersports
RoW – Sports Central
