Pakistan and Afghanistan will play the 36th group stage match of the ICC World Cup at Headingley on Saturday.
Both sides have played seven matches each, with Afghanistan out of contention for the semifinals, having lost all seven matches. Pakistan, which has won three matches and lost three, must win against Afghanistan and Bangladesh (July 5) to have a realistic chance of qualifying for the semifinal stage.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Pakistan batsman Haris Sohail said his side would be watchful about Afghanistan's spin bowers Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. “We've kept it very simple. We're going from match to match. They have quality spinners and we've seen a lot of videos and we've worked from them,” Sohail declared. Sohail played a key role in Pakistan's victories against South Africa and New Zealand, which helped resurrect their World Cup campaign. Sohail hammered 89 off just 59 balls against South Africa and scored a measured 68 against New Zealand.
Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib was confident his team could pull off an upset on a Headingley wicket that he felt would assist their spinners. “If you look at similar conditions, it is certainly in our favour, it's good for our spinners,” he said. Naib said Rashid was a “different spinner, a different bowler to other spinners. So it's difficult to pick him."
The one factor in favour of Afghanistan is the fact that they had defeated Pakistan in a warm-up game before the World Cup at Bristol in May. In that match, Babar Azam had made 112 as Pakistan posted 262. However, Afghanistan were able to overhaul it with two balls to spare, winning by three wickets. Hashmatullah Shahidi was the top-scorer, making an unbeaten 74, but it was opener
Hazratullah Zazai who laid the platform for Afghanistan's chase, hammering 49 off just 28 balls.
The weather in Headingley for the Afghanistan-Pakistan match is expected to be clear, with forecasters saying it will be the hottest day of the year. The Afghanistan-Pakistan match is scheduled to start at 3pm (IST).
