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ICC Men's T20 World Cup | Pakistan v Afghanistan | Dubai | 29 Oct, 2021 | Pre-game Discussion

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MenInG

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So can anyone stop this Pakistani juggernaut? :D

If anyone can ....

Afghanistan can!

So should Pakistan make any changes to this line-up? Is Hassan Ali the weak link or is he one match away from a match-winning performance?
 
This should be a cracking game and I am really looking forward to it.

Pakistan are favorites but Afghans can also win.
 
MenInG said:
So can anyone stop this Pakistani juggernaut? :D

If anyone can ....

Afghanistan can!

So should Pakistan make any changes to this line-up? Is Hassan Ali the weak link or is he one match away from a match-winning performance?
Click to expand...

Hassan ali is weak link of course but he takes most important wicket of kane. I think his energy level on field is great. Maybe try shahzawaz?
 
Pakistan won't change their winning XI.

Afghan spinners will bring their A game!

It will be a great game.

If Pak will I'll be happy and if Afghanistan win I won't be sad at all. A win-win for me! :afridi
 
Pakistan should make it to semi-final even if they lose against Afghanistan.

An Afghan win may take Afghanistan to semi-final. Their NRR is really good.
 
I might be wrong, but tensions might flare up in this match, not between players but spectators given the recent political events in the region.

Hopefully we don't see the violence that marred the last meeting between the two in the 2019 world cup.
 
Strategy Against Afghanistan?

I think Pakistan should bat first against Afghanistan.

I think Pakistan should score 40 in 8 overs of Mujeeb and Rashid. In the remaining 12 over get at least 110.

150 should be a good target against Afghns.

Your thoughts?
 
We will almost certainly lose the toss now and they will most likely bat first

Need to keep them below 140
 
Only real worry for Pakistan atm is Hasan Ali's form and how Pakistan would deal with a score above 150/160 if they lose a wicket early on. Will be interesting to see if Afg can take advantage of this.
 
If Pakistan take 2-3 wicket early on. Get Zazai, Shahzad and Gurbaz early and the match will be over before it started.
Easy win.
 
Afghan spinners will test our batting as been hit and miss so far against indian and kiwi spinners.

Hasan Ali needs to find form.

Afghans batting will test our bowlers are there top 4/5 batsmen can all smack a cricket ball.
 
Asif Ali hits well against Rashid Khan.

Afghanistan makes one big mistake and that is that they open Mujeeb ur rehman instead of bringing him in the middle.

We will be facing quality spin of 12 overs as Nabi can also spin it.

I am actually worried about this game and cant even decide what would be a good strategy against them.
 
tougher challenge than nz for pak imo. nz are good in a conventional way, very little mystery to their attack but sodhi took two wickets still.

zaman would have trouble against rashid and mujeeb, and haider is unlikely to fair significantly better. id move hafeez up one.

i think pak will be able to strategise to control afg batting, but 8 overs of mujeeb and rashid will be very difficult.

also wont help that afg spinners will be super confident after scotland.
 
Afghans are super confident after bundling Scotland out for 60 runs, Mujeeb, Rashid and Nabi will be hard to deal with. Zazai looks like he put on 20 kg of fat + muscles and can clear the rope with ease. This will be Pakistan's biggest test.

Take risk against Nabi, score 50 runs of Mujeeb + Rashid and play them out.

Shoaib Malik should bat at 1 as he is a beast against spinners, hafeez comes next.
 
Play normal percentage cricket and game is ours. We are not horrible at reading spin like a Scotland or even some other teams. We can rotate strike in the first 2 to 3 overs of spinners and attack in their third and fourth over especially if batting second with dew. Also can attack their pacers who will be bowling Part of powrplay and last 5 overs.
 
Pakistan has to win this one. Yes beating India is the best feeling but cant let this match slip.

Will be be a good match as Afghan team is at their best on these low and slow tracks.
 
Afghans probably have the best spin attack in this tournament. 12 overs of lethal spin.

They also have some great hitters. But, I expect Pakistani bowlers to handle them well.

If Pakistan can handle their spinners well, they (Pakistan) should win.
 
thelandofthebravepeople said:
If Pakistan take 2-3 wicket early on. Get Zazai, Shahzad and Gurbaz early and the match will be over before it started.
Easy win.
Click to expand...


I don't think they stand much of a chance against Afridi and Rauf. So early wickets are expected.

Rashid can actually hit as well - so gotta keep an eye on him, plus Nabi has some potential to hit.

It's their bowling that we need to counter - specially Mujeeb and Rashid.
I think Malik and Hafeez will the key batsmen in our squad to see off much of those 8 overs.
 
Afghanistan will collapse if chasing a good score. They are capable of scoring near 200 if batting first on a good batting pitch. Their spinner's will put our batsmen under pressure.
 
If Pak win toss - Afg will bat
If Afg win toss - Afg will bat

So we know which direction the game is heading and we can plan accordingly. I would be inclined to add another pacer to mix Mo. Wasim in place of Shadab as Afg play spin quite well and would struggle against genuine pace.

Overall, even if we go unchanged we shouldn't let Afg score over 150 on a good wicket. Their main strength in their batting are openers which I feel will be mutilated by Shaheen their next strength are batting capabilities of Nabi and Rashid lower in the order for which we need to display effective death bowling.

The chase can get tricky if we go without a plan against Mujeeb and Rashid. Mujeeb generally bowls slightly short at times and whenever he does that both Babar and Rizwan should capitalise on pull. One or two pull shots will throw him off radar. Whilst Rashid adds a lot of pace to his spin bowling so Rizwan should play the clever scoops behind the square to feed off his bowling.

I don't see Pakistan throwing this away but hey its Pakistan we can be 2 different teams on same days.
 
Technics 1210 said:
If Pakistan win toss, bat first. Need some practice in setting a target.
Click to expand...

We need to first, fully secure our position on the points table.

Probably, Pak can get that chasing practice against Namibia and Scotland together with giving Dahani, Wasim Jr., Haider Ali and perhaps Sarfaraz as well, a chance to get their feet wet as well.

And this will get Rauf, Shaheen, Rizwan etc, a much needed rest to be replenished for the next round.
 
Colorblind Genius said:
We need to first, fully secure our position on the points table.

Probably, Pak can get that chasing practice against Namibia and Scotland together with giving Dahani, Wasim Jr., Haider Ali and perhaps Sarfaraz as well, a chance to get their feet wet as well.

And this will get Rauf, Shaheen, Rizwan etc, a much needed rest to be replenished for the next round.
Click to expand...

This sounds very defeatest.

Are you saying that your are not confident in Pakistan setting a target then defending it vs Afghanistan?

Pakistan has had chasing practise vs India and New Zealand.

There are 3 days between NZ and AFG game. Plenty time to rest.
 
Win toss, bat first. Same 11.

Afghanistan has a spinning attack so maybe swap positions of Malik and Hafeez.

Otherwise don't change a winning formula.
 
Technics 1210 said:
This sounds very defeatest.


Are you saying that your are not confident in Pakistan setting a target then defending it vs Afghanistan?

Pakistan has had chasing practise vs India and New Zealand.

There are 3 days between NZ and AFG game. Plenty time to rest.
Click to expand...

Call it what you may. But I don't think there is any significant advantage of taking the extra risk.

It's cricket.
Even a blind man knows the difference between Afghanistan team and Scotland/Namibia teams.

Do you even remember the last they played against us in that T20 game in England?
 
Colorblind Genius said:
Call it what you may. But I don't think there is any significant advantage of taking the extra risk.

It's cricket.
Even a blind man knows the difference between Afghanistan team and Scotland/Namibia teams.

Do you even remember the last they played against us in that T20 game in England?
Click to expand...

Yup defeatest.

Comparing games in the UK with games in the UAE is very different. Plus past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Did you watch the Afghanistan games vs Scotland? Afghanistan are no longer minnows; they ended up with a 6.5+ NRR. Let this sink in.

Sounds to me you are not so confident, still, if we were to go by the last T20 game in England, what are you worried about?

Well, anyway, good job the toss is not in Pakistan’s hand. I hope Afghanistan win the toss and put Pakistan to bat.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Yup defeatest.

Comparing games in the UK with games in the UAE is very different. Plus past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Did you watch the Afghanistan games vs Scotland? Afghanistan are no longer minnows; they ended up with a 6.5+ NRR. Let this sink in.

Sounds to me you are not so confident, still, if we were to go by the last T20 game in England, what are you worried about?

Well, anyway, good job the toss is not in Pakistan’s hand. I hope Afghanistan win the toss and put Pakistan to bat.
Click to expand...

So your hopes lie in the hands of Afghanistan?
 
Colorblind Genius said:
So your hopes lie in the hands of Afghanistan?
Click to expand...

I don’t even know what this means.

Look, Pakistan will have to set a target at some point in this tournament, you rather give them the opportunity and false hope by doing so vs Namibia and Scotland.

Each to their own I guess.
 
The match is in Dubai
So their spin wont do much damage there and their pacers are not as good
 
ahmed16 said:
Win toss, bat first. Same 11.

Afghanistan has a spinning attack so maybe swap positions of Malik and Hafeez.

Otherwise don't change a winning formula.
Click to expand...

I would not change the winning combination. However, in the pitch like today one i will send Zaman opener instead of babar.
 
Technics 1210 said:
I don’t even know what this means.

Look, Pakistan will have to set a target at some point in this tournament, you rather give them the opportunity and false hope by doing so vs Namibia and Scotland.

Each to their own I guess.
Click to expand...

What I meant is that, you have no hope from the entire Pakistan Think Tank and the captain to to win the toss and bat first? You think the entire Pakistan set up has, the so called, "defeatist mindset"? So you place your hopes in Afghanistan winning the toss and putting us into bat?
 
I think our pacers will give the Afghanis problems. I do fear their spinners slightly, Mujeeb and Rashid could have a field day. Backing Rizwan to sweep the spinners well and pounce on anything short. Babar needs to rotate strike better, has been lacking on that the past few games. If Babar and Rizwan have a good stand, then Hafeez or Asif could be promoted to slog the spinners a bit.

Much harder game than it may seem. As someone else said, I feel this could be a tougher test than New Zealand, so we need to bat much better.
 
Colorblind Genius said:
What I meant is that, you have no hope from the entire Pakistan Think Tank and the captain to to win the toss and bat first? You think the entire Pakistan set up has, the so called, "defeatist mindset"? So you place your hopes in Afghanistan winning the toss and putting us into bat?
Click to expand...

Read my post above, I have hope, I said if Pakistan win toss they should bat first, it’s you who said Pakistan should secure the points first before electing to set a target, that too vs Namibia/Scotland.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Read my post above, I have hope, I said if Pakistan win toss they should bat first, it’s you who said Pakistan should secure the points first before electing to set a target, that too vs Namibia/Scotland.
Click to expand...

I thought you said, "I hope Afghanistan win the toss and put Pakistan to bat (post # 21).", which kinda indicates that you do not expect Babar Azam to win the toss and decide the bat first because he has the defeatist mindset.

Anyway, I am still firm on belief. The risk easily outweighs the benefit.
 
This seems like a trap match and after the high of beating India & NZ and playing so well, I hope they don't take Afghanistan too lightly because they look pretty good. Their spinners are going to give our batsmen hell and their batsmen can be pretty explosive.

Should make for a really good match to be honest. I'll be really interested to see how Pakistan handle top quality spin because I am not sure they have been really tested vs spin so far.
 
Nasty Naz said:
This seems like a trap match and after the high of beating India & NZ and playing so well, I hope they don't take Afghanistan too lightly because they look pretty good. Their spinners are going to give our batsmen hell and their batsmen can be pretty explosive.

Should make for a really good match to be honest. I'll be really interested to see how Pakistan handle top quality spin because I am not sure they have been really tested vs spin so far.
Click to expand...


I am telling you, Afghanistan is one of these teams that you call a "Banana peel".
If you brush it aside as lil nothing game, it may just come back and haunt you.

The trick is, do not take them lightly!
Take them just as India or NZ team.
If you think otherwise, then you are stepping on the Banana Peel.
 
Team needs to take the match as seriously as they took the first 2. Also Afghans in the diaspora hate Pakistan even more than Indians. so the last thing we want is to give them a reason to celebrate.
 
Maybe promote Malik and Asif Ali up the order at 3 & 4. They can have a go at the spinners and set the tone
 
Tubs said:
I think our pacers will give the Afghanis problems. I do fear their spinners slightly, Mujeeb and Rashid could have a field day. Backing Rizwan to sweep the spinners well and pounce on anything short. Babar needs to rotate strike better, has been lacking on that the past few games. If Babar and Rizwan have a good stand, then Hafeez or Asif could be promoted to slog the spinners a bit.

Much harder game than it may seem. As someone else said, I feel this could be a tougher test than New Zealand, so we need to bat much better.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Our ability to play their spinners will be the key.

Don't need to change the playing XI but should focus on the batting order - who comes in when to face which bowlers, that's what will matter...
 
Win the toss and bat first. There’s no way we’ll chase anything above 130 vs Afghanistan.

Pakistan should open with Fakhar so he can do some damage with the Afghan pacers.

Fakhar
Babar
Rizwan
Hafeez
Malik
Asif
Imad
Shadab
Wasim jnr
Rauf
Shaheen
 
These two wins have basically given Pakistan a buffer against Afghanistan. Even if Pakistan lose, Pakistan won't be too despondent.
 
Match is in dubai which will have dew factor in second innings. And im pretty sure we wont concede more than 130 if we get their top 3 early. If Pakistan plays normal game , they will win
 
India :133:

New Zealand :133:

Aghanistan

England


Pakistan has a hit list, and Afghanistan is next, should be a spicy game.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
Win the toss and bat first. There’s no way we’ll chase anything above 130 vs Afghanistan.

Pakistan should open with Fakhar so he can do some damage with the Afghan pacers.

Fakhar
Babar
Rizwan
Hafeez
Malik
Asif
Imad
Shadab
Wasim jnr
Rauf
Shaheen
Click to expand...

In the WC, didn't they open an off-spinner vs Fakhar and get him out the first or second ball in the match?

Fakhar has also struggled a lot in UAE and it makes zero sense for him to open. He is doing well again in T20's now in that #3 spot, just leave him there.
 
Just want to let you guys know that the Afghans living in the UAE, while still Afghans, are no where near the level of the backstabbers in England. These are the poor lot who still have empathies for Pakistan
 
I hope we bat first and any score of over 140 should be enough.
We can try Malik at 3 against them and he is brillaint against spinners.
 
Mujeeb is not a threat against test playing nations. He performed poorly for Punjab Kings, and didn't even get a game for Hyderabad in the IPL.
 
Virtually, this game decides our qualification.

Win this, and you're through.

Lose from here, you need to win everything else.

And Afghanistan will be a challenge no doubt.

As for our team, I think the balance is right but the batting order needs to be changed.

Hafeez showed that he can come out and bunt the ball when needed, so I'd change the lineup to this:

Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Babar Azam (c)
Shoaib Malik
Mohammad Hafeez
Fakhar Zaman
Asif Ali
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali
Haris Rauf
Shaheen Shah Afridi

One of Babar or Rizwan will need to bat well, and bat quickly if we want to succeed.

Mujeeb is a tall off-spinner, so the slog-sweep should be on offer.
 
All games played in Dubai have been won by the team batting second so far this tournament.

Don't think the pitch is too difficult though, it's more about batsmen getting themselves in and applying themselves.

With the ball we need to strike early and remove both Shehzad and Zaizai. Think Shaheen's got what it takes, however I'd be tempted to maybe give Rauf one upfront as I don't think the Afghan's play raw pace to well.

Anyways we cannot take this game lightly and need to be clinical all the way through. A win and we will have essentially be through to the semi's as table toppers plus we can have a few days just to regroup and somewhat relax
 
Nasty Naz said:
In the WC, didn't they open an off-spinner vs Fakhar and get him out the first or second ball in the match?

Fakhar has also struggled a lot in UAE and it makes zero sense for him to open. He is doing well again in T20's now in that #3 spot, just leave him there.
Click to expand...

They’ll probably bowl Nabi in the PP, and if Babar and Rizwan can get 50-60 in the PP then that would be perfect. We’re not going to score much against Mujeeb and Rashid, so we need to be ahead of the curve before they come on.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
They’ll probably bowl Nabi in the PP, and if Babar and Rizwan can get 50-60 in the PP then that would be perfect. We’re not going to score much against Mujeeb and Rashid, so we need to be ahead of the curve before they come on.
Click to expand...

We need to make sure we take their pacers to the cleaners.

Babar has typically done well against Rashid Khan, and he dominates off-spin.

I'm a bit more worried about Rizwan because he hasn't played against the likes of Mujeeb and Rashid at all.
 
Not sure where all the AFG hype is coming from, if they have a chance of winning it's if Pakistan play very much below par.
 
sweep_shot said:
That's right.

An Afghan win is bad for both India and New Zealand.

Pakistan can still top the group if they only beat Scotland and Namibia.
Click to expand...

How?

If Afghanistan does beat Pakistan it will throw this group wide open with all four teams having a chance to qualify.

I.e. India beats NZ and Afghanistan and they are through. Exactly same scenario with NZ. Afghanistan just needs to beat one of NZ or India to have a chance to qualify (if they have already beaten Pakistan) on NRR or both to be certain to qualify.
 
Pictures of six members of Pakistan squad practicing today ahead of the game against Afghanistan (Pictures courtesy of the PCB)

04cebd11-942b-4ba8-a21a-dbae602eaf1b.jpg471bfa04-d85c-42e2-b704-582ee6152d94.jpg3b7dc9b4-002c-46ab-88a2-539e3b2c5422.jpg22fcbc3c-2a26-4bce-b40e-bdb6ee1c18c8.jpg
 
Everyone is seriously overrating Afghanistan, they are not capable of beating real teams yet. Would be an easy victory for Pakistan (and India, NZ too).
 
Afghan spinners and team overall untested against quality oppositions they played so little against top sides I don’t see them as threat as a team. Individual performances are there. Anyone remember vs England at Manchester Rashid Khan and Morgan 9 sixes so let’s see if they have that in them but making records against minnows shouldn’t count much.
 
This should be very interesting but Pakistan start as favourites obviously
 
msb314 said:
How?

If Afghanistan does beat Pakistan it will throw this group wide open with all four teams having a chance to qualify.

I.e. India beats NZ and Afghanistan and they are through. Exactly same scenario with NZ. Afghanistan just needs to beat one of NZ or India to have a chance to qualify (if they have already beaten Pakistan) on NRR or both to be certain to qualify.
Click to expand...

The group is not wide open, Pak literally need to beat the two minnows and they are through. NZ and India cannot both finish on the same points as Pak.
 
taqi said:
Afghan spinners and team overall untested against quality oppositions they played so little against top sides I don’t see them as threat as a team. Individual performances are there. Anyone remember vs England at Manchester Rashid Khan and Morgan 9 sixes so let’s see if they have that in them but making records against minnows shouldn’t count much.
Click to expand...

Rashid Khan in Manchester vs Rashid Khan in UAE is a very different prospect.
 
Extreme Pace said:
Everyone is seriously overrating Afghanistan, they are not capable of beating real teams yet. Would be an easy victory for Pakistan (and India, NZ too).
Click to expand...

It's a wonder Afghanistan never played properly before ...the usual supply line to Pakistan is now theirs and it's seriously good!
 
I would keep the same 11.

If anything, replace Muhammad Wasim Jr. for Hassan Ali so that Hassan Ali gets a wake-up call. Yes, Hasan Ali, is a brilliant power hitter with the bat, but his job is to be a bowler, and if he can't do his main job well, then he shouldn't stay on the team due to his batting. In all honesty, though, I haven't seen much of Muhammad Wasim Jr, and I hope he isn't being fast-tracked, just like Muhammad Hasnain, Musa Khan and Naseem Shah, which is why I would keep Hassan Ali, as he also has the 5 years experience.

There will probably be some talk to Drop Imad Wasim for Muhammad Nawaz, but I will keep Imad Wasim, as his bowling is really good. But as we all saw, Imad Wasim's batting was terrible, with those reverse -dil scoops, whatever they were.

Most people don't realise Imad Wasim has always been attempting (and failing) those silly shots his whole career and that he has never really been that great of a Batsman, which is why he and Shadab Khan should swap batting positions. Shadab is a really good batsman and much better than Imad. when Malik and Imad Wasim were in the middle, I didn't have trust in these two to finish the game, and Shadab Definitely should have been sent out first.

1. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
2. Babar Azam (c)
3. Fakhar Zaman
4. Mohammad Hafeez
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Asif Ali
7. Shadab Khan
8. Hassan Ali / Muhammad Wasim Jr.
9. Imad Wasim
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi
11. Haris Rauf

Hopefully, if Pakistan wins the toss, they should bat first, to set a target. They need to get used to batting first situation. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan should bat at a slightly more steady rate, hopefully, the middle order doesn't collapse against Afghanistan spin bowlers, and would be nice to see Hassan Ali bowl well if he gets selected.
 
street cricketer said:
I might be wrong, but tensions might flare up in this match, not between players but spectators given the recent political events in the region.

Hopefully we don't see the violence that marred the last meeting between the two in the 2019 world cup.
Click to expand...

I hope things will be better this time & since ICC most have taken precautions after what happened 2019,
That incident was preplanned.
 
I think Pak can handle Mujeeb, Our openers can take care of him, Attack there pacers and force Rashid to bowl in power play. Its the calculation of which bowler to target.
 
I want a one sided match for Pakistan something we haven't had against Afg since our first ODI against them.
 
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