T20 World Cup 2021 match preview: Pakistan v Afghanistan

Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know

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What’s the match?

Pakistan take on Afghanistan in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.

When is it taking place?

The game is scheduled for 6pm local time (2pm BST) on Thursday, October 28, 2021.

Where is the match being played?

The game will be held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.

Dubai International Cricket Stadium: Ground guide

Who’s got the form?

Pakistan have arguably been the tournament's most impressive side so far, beginning with excellent wins over India and New Zealand, with a number of players coming to the fore with fine performances.

The India game especially was a special occasion, marked at the end with a fine show of sportsmanship from Virat Kohli, whose embrace with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will sustain as one of the most significant images of the tournament.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, began their campaign in equally impressive fashion, hammering Scotland with a nigh-on perfect performance, set up by their batter and completed by the competition's best spin cartel.

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What are the odds?

Dafabet have Pakistan as favourites to win this match, offering odds of 2/7 in favour of Babar Azam's men. Afghanistan are available at 5/2.

Who are the ones to watch?

Shaheen Shah Afridi has already once in this competition shown his ability to take down an opening pair in the powerplay, hooping a pair of perfect inswingers to dismiss KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma against India, before Haris Rauf took four wickets to clean up against New Zealand.

With the bat, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan played a match-winning hand against India, chasing down their target with an unbroken first-wicket stand.

For Afghanistan, their batters appear ready to fire, which could spell danger for opposition sides, given the undoubted quality of their bowling attack. Najibullah Zadran began the tournament with a rapid half century, while Hazratullah Zazai whacked 44 in the same game. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman then shared nine wickets between them to seal the deal.

What's the team news?

Neither team has any reason to change things after strong starts to the competition.

Who are the umpires?

The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:

Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath

Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson

The following officials have been allocated to this fixture: 

On-field umpires: Brown, J Wilson

TV umpire: Rusere

Fourth umpire: Menon

Referee: Boon

Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here

What's the weather forecast?

Temperatures are expected to hover around 30 degrees Celsius for the afternoon match.

Follow the Met Office forecast here.

Are fans allowed in?

Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place. 

Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.

What’s the prediction?

Pakistan have started like a team on a mission and their bowling attack has the tools to ensure Afghanistan cannot pile on the runs as they did against Scotland.

T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES

Afghanistan

Australia

Bangladesh

England

India

Ireland

Namibia

Netherlands

New Zealand

Oman

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Scotland

South Africa

Sri Lanka

West Indies

Where can I watch the game?

Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.

BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.

The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar

Other broadcasters by territory:

Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports

New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand

Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports

Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)

Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)

South Africa – SuperSport

Caribbean – ESPN

Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV

USA – ESPN+

Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel

Malaysia - Fox International Channels

Hong Kong - Star Cricket

What are the squads?

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman

Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq

What are the likely starting XIs?

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf

Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores

T20 World Cup fixtures

T20 World Cup squads

Our coverage of the T20 World Cup is brought to you in association with Dafabet India. For more on Dafabet and to place a bet, click here

Comments

Posted by Mohammed Rashid on 28/10/2021 at 18:28

Pakistan need to keep up their positive attitude and not go slack as Afghanistan are the tournaments Dark horses They almost beat Pakistan in England when Imad Wasim came to the rescue along with Sarfraz So please Pakistan do not take them lightly and slip up

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