There’s ample reason to be optimistic about if you’re a Afghanistan fan : team making their debut in this elite subcontinental competition, and taking on a Pakistan side who are making a reputation out of self-destructing. Add to this, a benign pitch that would negate Pakistan’s fearsome pace attack, and things auger well for the Asia Cup debutants. As much as it is a case of Afghanistan going out there to soak in the occasion, the prospect of upsetting the defending champions would be hard to shrug off. Pakistan can blow hot and cold, and with six of Afghanistan’s squad members enjoying profitable outings in the Bangladesh domestic circuit, Afghanistan will be at ease with the conditions. Their talismanic captain, Mohammad Nabi, helped himself to as many as 223 runs in five Dhaka Premier Division matches. Add the destructive Mohammad Shahzad into the mix, and Afghanistan may well possess the necessary ammunition to spring a major upset.
The only previous occasion in which these two nations locked horns, four Afganistan batsmen had got off to starts, but failed to push on from there. And as if often the case when one of the giants take on one of the associate nations, reading the situation of the match and responding to it are some of the subtleties that the major teams seem to understand better.
Pakistan are in a virtually must-win scenario having lost their opening tie to the Lankan lions by 12 runs – the wickets of Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq falling in the same over turning the game in Sri Lanka’s favor after Pakistan looked like they were heading to a comfortable victory. In Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan have a genuine world-class spinner capable of unlocking some of the best batting line-ups in the world – the unresponsive pitch at Fatullah will hardly dishearten this spin wizard. Pakistan’s concern however is in their batting – most of the top-order batsmen seem content with flashy, quickfire cameos than a solid foundation. Shahid Afridi continues to give more ‘heart-in-mouth’ moments while Umar Akmal has an eye for the sensational but his inconsistency is his biggest drawback.
For the minnows, Nawroz Mangal will be somebody to keep an eye on. Mangal has scored one of the seven ODI hundreds scored by Afghanistan batsmen. With the talented Shahzad as his opening partner and the likes of Asghat Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi to come in next, the top order will have to shoulder the majority of the run-scoring as the side lacks depth in batting. On a pitch which is a batsman’s delight, maybe there is an upset on the cards.
Are Afghanistan ready to start winning?
Pakistan (probable): Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal , Junaid Khan
Afghanistan (probable): Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Nawroz Mangal, Asghat Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ali Zadran, Karim Sadiq, Shapoor Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shenwari, Rahmat Shah, Hamza Hotak.
